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23  WIST  MAIN  STRKT 

WIBSTIR,N.Y.  14SM 

(716)872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

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microfiches. 


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Coloured  covers/ 
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I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 

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Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  peliiculie 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

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Encre  de  couieur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

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modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  fiimage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


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Pages  de  couieur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  peiure, 
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to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  ArcMvti  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poaaibia  eonaidaring  tha  condition  and  iaglbiiity 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacification«. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
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first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
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or  illustratad  imprassion. 


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mathod: 


L'axamplaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grica  i  la 
gAnArosit*  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  At*  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  fanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  I'axamplatra  film*,  at  9n 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da     > 
filmaga. 

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darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
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plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplairas 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
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la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
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symbols  V  signifia  "FIN". 

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GRAY  &  BOWEN 

Have  in  course  of  publication,  a  series  of  Works  for 
Youth,  which  will  appear  under  the  general  title  of 
TALES  OF  TRAVELS,  by  Solomon  Bell,  late 
Keeper  of  the  Traveller's  Library,  Province-House 
Court,  Boston. 

The  design  of  this  series  is  to  supply  to  the  children  of  the  United 
States,  an  entertaining  abstract  of  the  most  popular  books  of  travels, 
which  have  lately  appeared.  They  will  be  written  in  a  style  of  great 
simplicity,  will  possess  the  attractions  of  continuous  narrative,  and 
be  divested  of  everything  which  ought  not  fo  be  exhibited  to  the 
youthful  mind.  They  will  be  richly  embellished  with  pictures,  from 
original  and  correct  designs  ;  each  volume  will  be  accompanied  by  a 
map  showing  the  routes  of  the  travellers  ;  and  the  whole  will  be  exe- 
cuted in  the  most  elegant  and  pleasing  style  in  all  respects.  While 
these  volumes  are  designed  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  entertaining 
and  attractive,  they  will  yet  be  perfectly  authentic. 

The  first  of  this  series,  will  be  entitled.  Tales  of  Travels  West  of 
the  Mississippi, — This  will  contain  the  most  interesting  details  in  the 
various  narratives  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  Major  Long,  Jewitt,  and  oth- 
ers, and  will  present  a  correct  picture  of  the  vast  country  that  lies 
West  of  the  Mississippi, — including  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  and 
their  msdes  of  life  ;  and  an  account  of  the  most  remarkable  animals. 
It  will  also  be  enlivened  with  the  personal  adventures  of  the  several 
iRdividuals  noticed  in  the  aforesaid  works. 

One  volume  will  exhibit  the  Polar  Regions,  and  detail  the  sub- 
stance of  the  several  narratives  of  Parry,  Franklin,  Lyon,  &c.  One 
will  be  given  upon  Mexico,  and  another  upon  South  America. 
Three  volumes  will  be  given  upon  Africa,  which  will  embrace 
the  travels  of  Lyon,  Lang,  Denham,  Clappertoni  Caillie,  Salt, 
Burchel,  Thomson,  and  others.  % 

Four  volumes  will  be  given  upon  Europe,  and  three  or  four  upon 
Asia.  The  most  recent  and  valuable  works  will  be  selected  as  the 
basis  of  these  volumes,  and  great  pains  will  be  taken  to  adapt  them 
to  the  design  of  the  publication. 

When  completed,  the  above  series  will  contain  travels  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  cor  7?y  correct  ideas  of  the  inhabitants,  the  animuL, 
and  the  geography  of  the  various  countries  and  nations  on  the  globe. 

The  price  of  these  works  will  be  very  low,  so  as  to  enable  every 
child  to  possess  the  whole  series.  They  will  appear  about  one  vol- 
ume in  two  months,  and  will  bo  sold  separately,  or  in  sets,  at  the 
option  of  purchasers.  Each  book  will  bo  complete  in  itself,  and 
huvo  no  necessary  connexion  with  any  other  volume. 


'K. 


V 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


IN    CENTRAL    AFRICA, 


WILL    BE    PUBLISHED    IN    DECEMBER. 


ADVENTURE   WITH   A   LEOPARD. 


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TALUS    OF    TRAVELS 


WEST   OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


I.EWIS  AND  Clark's  travels  ;  long's  expedition  ; 


jewitt's  narrative. 


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TALES    OF    TRAVELS 


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WEST    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


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BY  SOLOMON  BELL, 

Late  Keeper  of  the  Travelles's  Library,  Province-House  Court,  Boston. 


WITH  A  MAP,  AND  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS. 


•'•fii 


,     i        .      -J      .      .',•{       Ml**»# 


BOSTON: 
GRAY  AND  BOWEN— WASHINGTON  STREET. 


1830. 


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DISTRICT  OP  MASSACHUSETTS,  TO  wit: 

District  Clerk's  Office. 
Be  it  remembbred,  That  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  October,  A.  D. 
1830,  in  the  fiftyfiflh  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  Samuel  6^  Goodrich,  of  the  said  district,  has  deposited 
in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as 
proprietor,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : — 

*■  Tales  of  Travels  West  of  the  Mississippi.  By  Solomon  Bell, 
late  Keeper  of  the  Traveller's  Library,  Province-House  Court,  Bos- 
ton.   With  a  Map  and  numerous  Engravings.'  , 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  en- 
titled '  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the 
copies  of  mapa,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of 
such  copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned ; '  and  also  to  an 
act,  entitled  *  An  act  supplementary  to  an  act,  entitled  *'  An  act  for 
the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps, 
charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  dur- 
ring  the  times  therein  mentioned ;  and  extending  the  benefits  there- 
of to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and 
other  prints."  * 

JNO.  W.  DAVIS, 
Clerkofthe  DiatrietofMnssachusetts. 


PREFATORY, 


INCLUDING    SOME   ACCOUNT    OF   THE   AUTHOR. 


I  HAVE  had  my  share  of  adventures  and  vicissitudes  in  life, 
but  now  for  the  first  time  do  I  come  before  the  public  as  an 
author.  One  might  suppose,  that  a  man  who  was  in  the 
battle  of  Tippecanoe,  — to  say  nothing  of  other  perilous 
chances  by  flood  and  field,— would  not  feel  his  hand  tremble 
at  dipping  his  pen  in  ink.  But  the  fact  is  otherwise;  and  I 
am  obliged  to  attest,  what  has  often  been  affirmed  before,  that 
experience  in  one  situation  does  not  necessarily  qualify  us  to 
act  with  decision  in  another.  It  is  no  new  thing,  to  find  a 
soldier  brave  in  the  field,  who  yet  quivers  like  an  aspen  leaf 
before  a  ghost. 


But  I  have  put  my  hand  to  the  plough,  and  what  is  more,  I 
have  given  my  portrait  in  the  titlepage.  Those  who  do  not 
recollect  the  features  of  the  *  Late  Keeper  of  the  Tr atel- 
ier's Library,  Province-House  Court,  Boston,  may  per- 
cliance  recognise  the  lineaments,of  a  well-known  individual. 

Pacific  N.  W.  Histc-^r  Dept. 


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PREFATORY. 


who,  being  pleased  with  all  the  world,  is  of  course  not  very 
much  out  of  humor  with  himself.  If  they  fail  to  discover 
the  likeness  of  an  acquaintance,  I  have  only  to  recommend  to 
their  attention  the  quaint  motto  appended  to  the  portrait  of 
an  ancient  divine: 

*  Good  Wilson  this  j  behold  his  looks  : 
Nay  more — proceed,  and  read  hia  books.* 

I  might  now  go  on  to  say  something  more  distinctly  of  my- 
self and  my  plan.  But  I  make  no  pretences  to  learning,  and 
I  never  had  anything  to  do  with  ambition.  I  court  not 
Fame ;  and  if  I  did,  the  goddess  would  not  listen  to  such 
humble  addresses  as  mine.  Nor  do  I  seek  Fortune;  for  that 
blind  deity  has  had  sufficient  eye-sight  always  to  elude  my 
pursuit.  I  may  add,  that  the  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,  of 
which  the  poet  speaks,  has  irrevocably  ebbed  beyond  my 
reach. 


Why  do  I  write,  then  1 — I  answer  to  the  critics  with  my 
hand  on  my  heart — partly  because  I  have  been  somewhat  of  a 
traveller  myself,  and  would  fain  edge  in  a  few  of  my  adven- 
tures with  those  of  other  people;  partly  because  I  have 
nothing  else  to  do ;  partly  because  I  am  like  my  neighbour, 
Peter  Parley,  and  love  to  see  the  eyes  of  children  glisten  at 
hearing  a  good  story ;  and  partly  because  I  am  not  willing 
to  let  the  world  roll  round  beneath  my  feet,  and  bring  me  to 
my  gi'ave,  leaving  no  record  behind  of  any  serious  effort,  on 
my  part,  to  benefit  mankind.  , 


PREFATORY. 


IX 


So  much  for  myself.  As  for  my  plan,  I  meant  to  say  some- 
thing about  it;  but  I  perceive  that  the  advertisement  of  my 
publishers,  at  the  beginning  of  the  volume,  has  set  that  fortli 
better  than  I  coiild  do  it  myself. 


So  I  have  but  a  word  more  to  say,  and  that  is  for  my  little 
readers.  They  are  the  only  critics  I  am  anxious  to  please. 
Their  verdict  will  be  founded  in  nature  and  truth;  and  as  I 
cannot  say  as  much  of  others,  I  turn  to  them. 


TO    MY   LITTLE    READERS. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  about  various  travellers  in  different 
parts  of  the  world.  I  shall  relate  their  adventmes,  and  tell 
you  of  the  countries  which  Uiey  explored,  the  wild  animals 
they  saw,  and  the  people  they  met  with.  As  I  have  seen 
something  of  the  world  myself,  I  shall  occasionally  make  some 
observations  of  my  own;  but  I  shall  not,  like  Mr  Parley,  al- 
ways introduce  myself  as  the  hero  of  the  story.  On  the  con- 
trary, my  ohief  business  will  be  to  tell  what  has  happened  to 
others.  As  I  am  a  great  lover  of  truth,  and  detest  exaggeration, 
I  shall  only  present  you  with  tales  entitled  to  your  full  belief. 
Still,  if  you  are  fond  of  strange  stories,  you  shall  not  be  dis- 
appointed. 

We  shall  have  occasion,  ere  we  part,  to  climb  over  rocky 
mountains,  range  through  deep  forests,  traverse  wide  deserts, 
and  meet  with  many  curious,  and  some  perilous,  adventurer. 


X  PREFATORY. 

These  tilings  you  will  probably  find  amusing;  but  it  is  more 
important  that  they  prove  instructive. 

Let  me,  therefore,  here  ask  one  favor  of  you.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  each  volume  of  these  Tales  of  Travels,  you  will 
find  a  little  map.  This  map  gives  a  view  of  the  countries, 
tlie  course  of  rivers,  the  position  of  mountains,  and  the  situa- 
tion of  towns,  where  the  travellers  performed  their  journeys. 
Now  I  request  you  all,  as  you  proceed  in  the  story,  to  consult 
the  map,  and  trace  the  route  of  each  traveller,  as  you  pursue 
his  narrative.  You  will  enjoy  the  stories  better,  if  you  un- 
derstand tlie  maps. 

I  shall  now  tell  you  of  travels  in  the  unsettled  parts  of  our 
own  country.  I  shall  afterwards  tell  you  of  the  cold  regions 
far  to  the  North ;  I  shall  tell  you  of  Europe,  where  kings  live 
in  palaces ;  of  Asia,  where  tigers  and  rhinoceroses  roam  at 
large;  and  of  Africa,  where  the  lion,  the  leopard,  and  the 
ostrich  may  be  seen  in  the  desert.  I  shall  tell  you  of  South 
America,  where  the  mountains  spout  forth  fire;  and  the 
Islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  where  the  people  live  amidst 
trees  that  never  lose  their  verdure,  and  where  the  plants  are 
always  in  bloom. 


I  shuU  not,  like  a  certain  Friend  of  yours,  attempt  to  amuse 
you  with  fanciful  descriptions;  I  shall  tell  you  only  of  Truth, 
and  tliat  in  a  simple  and  plain  way. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

About  the  river  Mississippi—The  Prairios.-How  the  Indians 
set  them  on  Fire,  and  destroy  many  Wild  Animals.-About 
Buffaloes,  and  how  the  Indians  hunt  them        .       .       .      Page 

CHAPTER  II. 

About  Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Clark.-How  they  set  out  on 
their  Expedition  up  the  Missouri.-About  Snags  and  Sawyers, 

and  Kickapoo  Indians 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Travellers  continue  their  Voyage  up  the  River  Miasouri.- 
Curious  Story  of  the  Osages,  and  other  Things       .       .       . 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Barrows  or  Mounds.-Wolves.-How  the  two  Captains  held  a 
Council  with  the  Indians  at  the  River  Platte.-About  the 

Otoes.— Red  Pipe  Stone *        * 

CHAPTER  V, 

How  an  Indian  Chief  poisoned  many  P^'^P^^-^^^  ^;/!!^»^""f 

hlw  he  was  buried-About  the  Small  Pox.-How  the  Travel- 

Jerlcaught  Fishes  in  a  Bush  Net.-What  the  Captam  said 

otheTndians.-AnotherTalkwiththoI^^^^^^^^ 

Floyd  died-About  a  strange  Hill,  and  httle  Spirits       .       • 

CHAPTER  VI. 
u  q«rafiant  Prvor  went  to  the  Dahcotah  Camp,  and  how  the 
"i^hcrrird  hl.-Abo^  the  Dahcotahs,  and  how  they 
uancoui  Dahcotahs  came  to  the  Boats, 
'Tw"  riAt:  the  Peaeo  Pip».-How  the  Dah- 
::lr:;o™Ued1.  behave  weU.-Whet  a  strange  Society 
thoy  had  among  them 


II 


13 


18 


20 


25 


xu 


CONTENTS. 


Cr'\PTER  VII. 

About  the  ?oncara  Indians'  Mud  Village. — About  Prairie 
Dogs. — How  the  Captains  talked  with  the  Dahcotahs,  and 
how  they  attempted  to  rob  Captain  Clark. — How  thoy  gave 
the  White  Men  a  Dog  to  eat. — An  Indian  Dance. — How  the 
Dahcotahs  promised  to  make  Peace 31 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

How  the  Dahcotahs  were  dressed. — How  an  Indian  beat  two 
Squaws  for  Q,uarrelling.--About  an  Indian  Constable  — About 
Leather  Boats. — How  the  Ricarees  behaved. — A  Talk  with 
the  Ricarees,  and  what  they  said. — About  their  mud  Hou- 
ses.— What  Images  ther'  are  on  Stone  Idol  Creek        .       «       34 

CHAPTER  IX. 

About  the  Mandans — A  Mandan  Story. — How  the  White  Men 
spent  their  Time. — How  the  Minnetaree  Chief  came  to  see 
them,  and  Jiow  the  Indians  killed  Buffaloes  on  the  Ice. — The 
Party  sets  out  again. — About  Mrs  Chaboneau. — How  she  rob- 
bed the  Mice. — About  Yellow  Stone  River. — Captain  Lewis 
kills  a  Grisly  Bear 41 

CHAPTER  X. 

How  Captain  Clark  killed  a  Grisly  Bear,  and  how  another  was 
near  devouring  some  of  the  People. — About  a  Panther. — How 
a  Buffalo  got  into  the  Camp. — How  the  Indians  drive  Buffa- 
loes over  steep  Places       . .45 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Travellers  come  to  a  Fork  in  the  River. — How  a  Grisly 
Bear  ch&sed  a  Man  up  a  Tree. — About  the  Falls  of  the  Mis- 
souri.— How  Captain  Lewis  was  near  being  killed  by  a  Grisly 
Bear. — ^^How  he  slept  close  to  a  Rattlesnake. — How  the  Bears 
troubled  the  People. — Captain  Clark  is  near  being  drowned. — 
About  the  Gates  of  the  Missouri 49 

CHAPTER  XII. 

They  come  to  the  Great  Forks.— Captain  Lewis  sees  a  Sho- 
shonee  Indian. — He  meets  with  more  Shoshonees. — How  the 
Indians  hunted  the  Wild  Goats  on  Horseback.— How  Captain 
Lewis  made  a  Pudding 52 


CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Shoshonees  go  with  Capt.  Lewis  to  the  Place  where  Captain 
Clark  ig  waiting.— Mrs  Chaboneau  finds  her  Relations.— The 
Captains  buy  Horses,  and  Captain  Clark  goes  to  explore  the 
Columbia  River. — He  meets  with  a  good  many  Indians,  and 
sees  them  spear  Salmon. — They  pass  over  i  igh  Mountains 


55 


60 


CHAPTER  XTV. 

Description  of  the  Country  Capt.  Clark  saw.— About  Columbia 
River. — How  the  Men  were  almost  starved. — How  the  Indians 
live  a  great  while  without  eating.— What  Capt.  Lewis  and  his 
Men  did. — How  Drewyer  was  nigh  being  robbed         .         •        57 

CHAPTER  XV. 

How  the  Shoshonees  behaved.— What  the  Travellers  did  with 
their  Canoes.- How  they  went  over  Mountains.— About  the 
Shoshonee  Village.— How  the  Soldiers  fiddled  and  danced. 
— ^Description  of  the  Shoshonees 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

How  the  Travellers  went  over  the  Mountains,  and  saw  wild 
Sheep.— About  the  Ootlashoots.— How  the  White  Men  suffer- 
ed in  Trav  elling. — About  the  Chopunnish        .... 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

How  the  Travellers  made  Canoes. — How  they  went  over  the 
Rapids,  and  saw  a  crazy  Squaw. — How  they  ate  Dogs. — 
About  the  Chopunnish  Indians,  and  Prickly  Pears 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

How  the  Party  went  down  the  River,  and  came  to  the  So- 
kulks.— About  the  Sokulks.— How  they  flatten  the  Heads  of 
female  Infants  — How  the  Pishquitpaws  were  frightened 


63 


67 


69 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

About  the  Pishquitpaws.— An  Indian  Tomb.— About  the  Colum- 
bia River  —The  Falls  of  the  Columbia.— About  the  Eche- 
loots,  and  their  Houses  under  Ground  ...         72 

CHAPTER  XX. 

About  the  Chilluckittequaws,  and  other  Indians  the  Travellers 
saw.— About  the  Shilloots  and  Wahkiacums.— How  the  Par- 
ty came  to  the  Sea  .  .  .  .  .         .      75 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

About  the  Catlahmas,  and  Chinnooks,  and  Chiltz,  and  Clataops. 
—How  the  White  Men  built  Houses. — About  the  Indian 
Canoes.— About  a  Whale. — About  the  Chinnooks  .  78 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Description  of  the  Indians  near  the  Mouth  of  Columbia  River. — 
How  the  Travellers  returned  up  that  River,  and  other 
Matters  .....••• 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Travellers  proceed.— How  they  left  their  Canoes,  and  went 
over  the  Mountains. — How  the  Willetpos  ran  Races. — How 
the  Party  separated  ..... 


81 


83 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

About  Capt.  Lewis  and  his  Men. — How  a  Bear  drove  a  Man  up 
a  Tree. — How  they  saw  some  Blackfoot  Indians  on  Maria 
River. — How  the  Indians  behaved. — How  the  White  Men 
fought  with  the  Blackfeet  .  .  .  .         •       85 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Travellers  proceed  on  their  Journey. — Capt.  Lewis  Is  lAtot 
by  one  of  his  own  Men. — He  joins  Capt.  Clark. — Capt. 
Clark's  Adventures  .  .  .  .  .        .        91 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

How  one  of  Capt.  Clark's  Men  hurt  himself. — How  the  Indians 
stole  twentyfour  Horses. — How  the  Wolves  carried  off  some 
Meat. — About  the  Horses. — How  the  Buffaloes  stopped  the 
Party. — How  a  Grisly  Bear  attacked  the  Men. — About  the 
Musquitoes. — How  a  Wolf  bit  Sergeant  Pryor  .        .         94 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

About  the  Rickarees  and  Shiannes. — About  Porcupines. — How 
the  Tetons  acted. — How  the  Yanktons  behaved. — How  the 
White  Men  arrived  at  St  Louis  ....  100 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

How  Captain  Clark  was  rewarded. — How  Captain  Lewis  became 
deranged,  and  shot  himself. — About  the  Missouri  Indians.—* 
A  Story  of  Colter  and  the  B.'ackfoot  Indians  .  .       103 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

How  Major  Long  went  up  the  MimouFi,  and  who  went  with 
him. — Mr  Say  and  others  goon  an  Exploring  Party. — About 
the  Konzas  ....  .  .  107 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Deflcription  of  the  Konzas.— 'How  Mr  Say  and  his  Party  were 
robbed  by  the  Pawnees. — How  they  built  Houses  near  Coun- 
cil Blulfs,-  and  were  visited  by  various  Tribes  of  Indians. — 
About  the  Pawnees. — How  the  Party  set  out  for  the  River 
Platte.— Their  Adventures  .  •  .  .  109 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Buffaloes  again,  and  wild  Horses. — About  the  Mirage. — How  the 
Party  arrived  at  the  Rocky  Mountains. — How  they  went  to 
the  River  Arkansas. — How  they  separated. — How  the  Wolves 
fell  upon  a  Buffalo. — Description  of  the  Kaskaias. — Adven^ 
ture  with  an  Elk. — About  creasing  wild  Horses. — The  Party 
meet  with  some  Cherokees,  and  arrive  at  Belle  Pointe        .      M4 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  Travellers  meet  with  various  Tribes  of  Indians. — About 
a  Shianne  War  Party. — Herds  of  Buffaloes  and  Wolves  of 
various  Colors. — ^They  meet  with  some  Tetons,  and  three 
Soldiers  run  away. — The  Osages. — Lizards. — A  great  Spi- 
der.— The  Party  arrive  at  Belle  Pointe  .  .  .120 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Jewitt's  Birth  and  Education. — He  goes  to  Sea. — About  Maqui- 
na  and  the  Nootkas  ......    125 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Maquina  takes  the  Ship,  and  kills  the  Crew. — ^Jewitt  is  wound- 
ed with  an  Axe. — Maquina  saves  Jewitt's  Life. — How  Thomp- 
son is  found  alive,  and  knocks  an  Indian  down  with  his  Fist      129 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Two  Ships  come  to  Nootka. — Strange  Visiters.— How  Maquina 
treated  them.— How  the  Ship  was  burned. — How  the  Indians 
all  got  drunk.— How  Jewitt  worked  for  the  Indians.— Why 
Maquina  was  going  to  kill  Thompson.— How  Thompson  be- 
haved .....••  133 


n 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Jewitt  endeavours  to  please  the  Indians. — Description  of  the 
Nootkas  and  other  Indians.— How  they  left  their  Village.— 
About  Maquina's  lew  Coat  .....    137 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

How  tho  Nootkas  catch  Bears. — A  religious  Ceremony. — The 
Nootkas  remove. — A  great  Feast. — About  a  crazy  Chief. — 
How  he  was  whipped. — Jewitt  makes  a  Harpoon  for  Maquina, 
and  becomes  a  Man  of  Consequence  .  .  .      l'^ 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

The  crazy  Chief  dies. — Maquina  makes  War  upon  the  Ay- 
charts. — The  neighbouring  Chiefs  try  to  buy  Jewitt. — How 
the  Indians  were  frightened  by  an  Eclipse  of  the  Moon        .       147 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

A  further  Description  of  the  Nootkas,  their  Manners  and  Cus- 
toms.— About  the  Climate. — A  Ship  arrives  at  Nootka. — Ma- 
quina goes  to  it  with  a  Letter  from  Jewitt  .  .         150 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Maquina  goes  on  board  the  Ship,  and  is  put  in  Irons. — Thompson 
and  Jewitt  are  released. — The  Articles  belonging  to  the  Bos- 
ton are  restored. — Maquina  is  set  free  .  .  .      155 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

The  Vessel  sails,  and  they  traffic  with  various  Tribes  of  In- 
dians.— They  go  to  the  Columbia  River,  and  find  Capt. 
Lewis's  Letter. — Aeturn  to  Nootka. — Meeting  with  Ma- 
quina.— Farewell. — The  Brig  goes  to  China,  and  Jewitt  ar- 
rives at  Boston. — He  writes  his  Book,  and  settles  in  Berlin, 
Connecticut. — ^His  Death  .....     160 

■'"  ^.-    ■^--->?     =.<^-.-    ■  '         ,.  -  -        ,■  ,        .,        „     V;  ----''/- ^WUi^r 


.■iK-i.:f<r\ 


,  , ;.r':,;js 


37 


TALES   OF   TRAVELS 


12 


WEST   OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


J7 


CHAPTER  I. 


)0 


»5 


;o 


Mout  the  River  Mississippi.— The  Prairies. — How  the 
Indians  set  them  on  Fire^  and  destroy  many  Wild 
Animals. — Mout  Buffaloes,  and  how  the  Indians  hunt 
them. 

I  SUPPOSE  my  readers  have  all  heard  of  the  River 
Mississippi.  There  is  a  picture  of  it  on  the  map,  at 
the  beginning  of  this  book.  It  is  a  great  stream  flow- 
ing from  north  to  south.  It  is  in  some  places  a  mile 
wide,  and  hundreds  of  steam  boats  are  constantly 
navigating  its  waters. 

On  the  map  you  see  a  place  called  St  Louis.  This 
is  a  town  where  there  are  several  thousand  people.  St 
Louis  is  about  1100  miles  from  New  York ;  it  is  1300 
miles  from  Boston,  and  1000  miles  from  Philadelphia. 
It  would  take  you  about  fourteen  days  to  go  by  stage 
and  steam  boat  from  New  York  to  St  Louis.  This 
town  is  in  a  direction  nearly  southwest  from  Boston. 


jl  TALES  OF  TRAVELS 

The  map  which  1  have  mentioned  before,  gives  you 
n  picture  of  a  vast  country  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
It  is  about  this  country  I  am  going  to  tell  you. 

You  observe,  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  map,  a 
dark  range  of  mountains  running  from  north  to  south. 
These  are  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  are  very 
high,  and  their  tops  are  always  covered  with  snow. 

Between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi, 
the  country  is  a  wide  prairie,  through  which  many  riv- 
ers flow,  and  empty  their  waters  into  the  Mississippi. 
I  suppose  you  have  never  seen  a  prairie  ;  so  I  will  de- 
scribe one  to  you. 

A  prairie  is  a  piece  of  ground  without  trees  or  bush- 
es. In  summer  it  is  covered  with  tall  grass.  Some- 
times the  prairies  are  quite  flat,  and  stretch  out  to  an 
immense  extent,  resembling  the  boundless  sea. 
Sometimes  they  are  uneven,  or  rolling,  as  they  are 
called. 

Trees  grow  along  the  banks  of  rivers  which  flow 
through  the  prairies,  and  around  the  lakes  and  ponds 
which  lie  within  them:  sometimes,  too,  there  arc 
small  spots  in  the  midst  of  a  prairie  where  there  is  no 
water,  covered  with  trees.  These  places  the  people 
call  islands. 

But  except  the  woods  which  grow  upon  the  mar- 
gins of  rivers  and  other  waters,  and  the  little  groups 
mentioned  above,  the  whole  region,  which  spreads 
out  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Mississip- 
pi, being  about  1000  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  near 
800  miles  from  north  to  south,  is  a  wide  prairie. 

Over  this  vast  space  there  are  only  a  few  small 
settlements,  and  not  many  white  people.    It  is  chiefly 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  3 

occupied  by  wandering  tribes  of  savages,  and  multi- 
tudes of  wild  beasts,  of  various  kinds.  The  Indiana 
live  chiefly  by  hunting  wild  animals,  which  tliey  some- 
times shoot  with  arrows,  and  sometimes  with  guns. 

I  suppose  you  never  saw  an  Indian.  Here  are 
pictures  of  some  Indians  ;  one  has  a  bow  and  arrow, 
the  other  is  in  full  dress.  The  Indians  have  dark 
skins,  tlie  color  of  copper,  and  dress,  as  you  see,  very 
differently  from  white  people. 


They  have  a  curious  custom  of  burning  the  prai- 
ries every  year.  In  the  fall,  when  the  grass  becomes 
dry,  they  set  it  on  fire,  and  the  flame  spreads  far  and 
wide  with  astonishing  rapidity.  The  wild  animals 
fly  from  it,  with  the  greatest  terror.  Horses,  bufla- 
loes,  deer,  elks,  bears,  and  other  creatures,  may  be 
seen  running  away  from  the  fire,  which,  however, 
often  overtakes  tht-ni,  and  burns  them  to  death. 


PRAIRIE    ON   FIRE. 


t 


BUFFALO,   OR  BISON. 


The  proper  name  of  this  animal  is  Bison ;  the  real  Buffalo 
is  not  found  in  America.  ,,.... 


.4"  ifi- 


mt 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


I* 


A  prairie  on  fire  at  night  is  a  truly  sublime  spectacle. 
The  flames  appear  like  a  burning  sea,  and  the  clouds 
of  smoke  that  roll  up  to  the  heavens,  tinged  with  the 
light,  spread  over  the  scene  a  terrific  gloom. 

These  fires  prevent  the  wood  from  growing;  for 
as  fast  as  the  trees  come  up,  they  are  burnt  to  the 
ground.  Thus  where  there  are  Indic^iis  to  burn 
them  over  every  year,  prairies  continue  destitute  of 
trees.  But  when  white  people  settle  in  the  prairies, 
these  fires  arc  not  kindled,  and  so  the  trees  come  up, 
and  what  was  before  a  prairie,  becomes  a  forest. 

Around  the  town  of  St  Louis,  the  country  for  fifty 
miles  in  extent  is  covered  with  woods.  Twentyfive 
years  ago,  it  was  an  open  prairie. 

In  the  prairies,  there  are  multitudes  of  buffaloes. 
A  BuflTalo  is  a  great,  ill-looking  animal,  something  like 
an  ox,  but  larger.  His  head  and  neck  are  covered 
with  long  shaggy  hair.  He  has  a  long  beard  too. 
His  neck  and  his  fore  parts  are  thick  and  strong,  but 
his  hind  parts  are  small  in  proportion  to  the  rest. 
In  the  summer  he  has  no  hair  from  his  shoulders 
backwards. 

Buffaloes  go  in  great  droves,  and  as  fast  as  they 
eat  up  the  grass  in  one  place  they  move  to  another. 
In  the  spring  they  are  fat,  and  their  meat  is  very 
good  to  eat.    In  the  fall  they  are  lean. 

I  have  seen  droves  of  them  that  covered  tlie 
ground  farther  than  the  eye  could  reach,  and  I  have 
travelled  three  days  through  a  herd,  without  coming 
to  the  end  of  it.  They  are  afraid  of  a  man,  and  will 
run  away  from  liim.  But  when  they  arc  wounded, 
they  will  turn  upon  him  and  attack  him  with  great 
furv.  1^ 


v„. 


I 


6 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


i 


The  Indians  hunt  buffaloes  sometimes  on  foot,  and 
sometimes  on  horseback.  When  they  hunt  them  on 
foot,  they  take  care  that  the  wind  blows  from  the 
buffaloes  to  them ;  for  these  creatures  have  a  very  keen 
scent  They  can  smell  a  man  more  than  a  mile, 
when  the  wind  blows  from  him  toward  them. 

When  the  hunter  has  got  as  near  as  he  can  with- 
out being"  seen,  he  lies  down  flat  in  the  grass. 
Then  he  drags  himself  along,  till  he  is  near  enough. 
Then  he  fires  at  the  buffalo's  heart,  and  kills  him. 
If  he  were  to  shoot  at  the  head,  it  would  be  of  no  use, 
for  the  skull  is  so  hard  and  thick,  that  a  bullet  will 
not  enter  it.   . 

The  Indians  have  horses  trained  to  hunt  the  buffa- 
lo. They  ride  into  a  drove,  and  fire  at  the  fattest 
and  best,  and  then  ride  to  another.  This  is  a  very 
dangerous  sport ;  for  the  buffalo,  when  he  is  wounded, 
turns  upon  his  enemy,  and  sometimes  kiUj  both 
horse  and  rider. 

I  should  not  omit  to  tell  you  that  the  buffalo  has  a 
great  hump  on  his  shoulders,  and  that  this  is  better  to 
eat  than  any  other  part. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  bears  in  this  country. 
One  is  the  Black  Bear.  He  eats  mice,  and  frogs,  and 
fish,  and  nuts,  and  corn,  and  climbs  trees.  He  sleeps 
all  winter  in  a  hollow  tree.  He  seldom  attacks  men. 
The  other  is  called  the  Grisly  Bear.  This  crea- 
ture is  a  dreadful  enemy,  and  attacks  men  whenever 
he  can  get  an  opportunity.  He  has  terrible  teeth, 
and  claws  longer  than  a  man's  finger.  He  is  of  a  dark 
grey  color.  He  runs  very  fast.  It  is  very  difficult 
to  kill  one  of  these   animals,  for  they  have  been 


•» 


\ 


INDIANS    HUNTING  BUFFALOES. 


GRISLY  BEAR. 


! 


>=^AWW' 


# 


•   • 


8  TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 

known  to  live  several  hours  after  having  ten  bullets 
shot  into  them.  They  feed  altogether  upon  flesh. 
They  are  not  afraid  of  fire,  as  other  wild  beasts  are. 
The  Elk  is  a  four-footed  beast,  very  like  a  deer, 
but  almost  as  big  as  a  horse.  The  females  have  no 
horns,  but  the  males  have  very  large  ones.  You 
may  have  seen  their  horns  in  a  museum.  Elks  are 
peaceable  creatures.  They  do  no  harm  to  anything, 
and  live  on  grass  and  the  small  branches  of  trees. 
I  have  seen  five  hundred  of  them  in  one  drove,  and 
they  were  a  beautiful  sight. 

Thus  I  have  told  you  something  of  the  country  be- 
tween the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  country  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Very  few  white  men  have  been 
there.  There  is  a  river  which  runs  from  the  moun- 
tains into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  called  the  Columbia  Riv- 
er. This  you  will  see  on  the  map.  It  comes  with- 
in forty  miles  of  the  springs  where  the  Missouri  riv- 
er begins.  On  the  river  Columbia,  which  is  a  very 
large  one,  the  country  is  full  of  hills  and  mountains. 
There  are  few  trees,  and  no  buffaloes.  But  there 
are  bears,  and  elks,  and  mountain  goats,  and  sheep 
with  great  horns.  The  Indians  that  live  there  are 
very  poor,  and  have  but  little  clothing. 

Before  you  get  through  with  this  book,  I  trust  you 
will  bo  better  acquainted  witli  this  country. 


•« 


w^ 


[^ 


M 
"V 


-•*^'4fc*H 


AMERICAN   ELK. 


The  American  Elk  is  one  of  the  finest  animals  of  the  deer 
kind  ;  it  is  found  only  in  America.  The  Elk  of  Europe  is 
common  in  this  country,  but  it  is  called  Moose.   ^ 


VI 


~%-> 


A* 


w 


o 


3    Tl 


tJD 


en 


d    5 
S  ^ 

en 


I 


'SkCi 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


11 


CHAPTER  n. 

About  Captain    Lciois  and   Cajitain    Clark. — How  they 
set  out  on  their  Expedition  up  the  Missouri. — About 
Snags  and  Sawyers^  and  Kickapoo  Indians. 

I  AM  now  going  to  tell  you  all  about  Captain  Lew- 
is and  Captain  Clark.  They  travelled  up  the  great 
river,  which  you  will  see  on  the  map,  called  the  Missou- 
ri, to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Then  they  crossed  the 
mountains  to  Columbia  River.  Then  they  made  ca- 
noes out  of  great  trees,  and  went  down  that  river  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  next  year  they  came  back 
by  the  same  way  they  went.  They  were  the  first 
travellers  who  wrote  anything  about  Columbia  River. 

As  this  great  country  was  not  known  about  thirty 
years  ago.  Congress  agreed  to  send  some  people  to 
find  out  what  kind  of  a  river  the  Missouri  was,  and 
see  if  it  was  possible  to  make  a  road  from  the  Mis- 
souri to  the  great  Pacific  Ocean  which  lies  far  to 
the  west.  So  President  Jeflferson,  who  was  a  great 
man,  chose  to  send  Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Clark 
to  learn  these  things. 

He  gave  them  many  articles  for  the  Indians,  such 
as  beads,  and  ribbons,  and  powder,  and  balls,  and  sil- 
ver medals  for  the  chiefs  of  the  Indians,  and  a  great 
many  other  things.  He  told  them  to  write  down  all 
they  saw  on  paper.  But  for  fear  the  paper  should  be 
spoiled  by  getting  wet,  he  told  them  to  write  on  birch 
bark  too. 

He  told  them  to  find  out  the  names  of  all  the  In- 
dian tribes  they  might  see,   and  what  lands  they 


19 


TALES  OF  TRAVT^LS 


^ 


\ 


1 


owned.  They  were  to  learn  all  they  could  about  the 
languages  of  the  Indians,  and  about  their  way  of  liv- 
ing, and  in  short  all  about  them,  and  the  country. 

When  they  came  to  the  ocean,  if  they  could  not 
return  safely  by  land,  they  were  told  to  try  to  find  a 
-ship  on  the  coast,  and  return  by  water. 

The  next  year,  in  the  month  of  May,  1804,  the  two 
Captains  started  from  St  Louis.  They  took  witli 
them  twentyseven  white  men,  and  a  negro,  who  was 
named  York.  They  went  on  board  three  boats. 
One  of  them  was  a  large  one,  with  a  deck  and  a  cab- 
in.   The  other  two  were  small  open  boats. 

Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Clark  soon  found  that 
the  Missouri  ran  very  fast.  The  banks  were  con- 
stantly falling  in,  and  the  trees  along  with  them. 
Some  of  these  trees  get  fast  in  the  bottom,  and  stick 
up  straight.  They  are  called  snags.  Others  get  fast 
in  the  same  way,  and  the  tops  are  always  moving, 
sometimes  under  the  water,  and  sometimes  above  it. 
These  are  called  sawyers,  and  ihey  are  very  danger- 
ous to  boats.  Great  trees  are  always  floating  down 
this  river ;  so  that  our  travellers  found  it  very  hard  to 
get  along.  In  three  days  they  came  to  a  town  of 
French  people,  called  St  Charles.  Here  they  staid 
three  days.  Two  days  after,  they  came  to  some 
Kickapoo  Indians,  who  had  been  hunting.  The  In- 
dians gave  them  four  deer,  and  they  made  the  In- 
dians a  present  in  return. 


4t 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


13 


CHAPTER  III. 


7%e  Tranellers  continue  their  Voyage  up  the  River  MtS' 
souri. — Curious  Story  of  the  OsageSy  and  other  Things, 

The  next  day  they  came  to  a  river  called  the 
Osage  Woman  River.  You  will  see  it  on  the  map. 
They  saw  a  large  cave,  too,  where  a  great  rock  hangs 
over  the  water.  There  are  strange  figures  painted 
on  this  rock.  Two  days  after,  they  came  to  the  Gas- 
conade River,  and  stopped  to  hunt.  The  trees  they 
saw  were  cotton  wood,  which  is  a  species  of  poplar ; 
hickory,  walnut,  and  willow.  They  found  plenty  of 
rushes,  and  some  grape-vines. 

Then  they  came  to  the  Osage  River.  The  Osage 
Indians  live  on  this  stream.  There  are  more  than  a 
thousand  of  them.  They  have  a  story  about  them- 
selves, which  I  will  tell  you. 

There  was  a  snail  crawling  on  the  bank  of  the 
Osage.  The  river  washed  him  away  and  carried  him 
to  the  Missouri.  Here  the  sun  shone  on  him,  and  he 
turned  into  a  man.  Then  he  returned  to  the  place 
where  he  was  born,  on  the  Osage  River.  He  came 
near  being  starved  to  death,  but  God  gave  him  a 
bow  and  arrow,  and  showed  him  how  to  kill  deer. 
Then  he  found  a  beaver  who  spoke  to  him,  and  told 
him  he  would  not  let  him  hunt  there.  While  they 
were  quarrelling,  the  beaver's  daughter  came  and 
made  the  quarrel  up.  The  man  married  the  female 
beaver,  and  their  children  were  the  first  Osages. 
2 


14 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


This  is  a  silly  story,  but  the  Osages  believe  it.  They 
are  an  ignorant  people,  and  do  not  know  how  to  read. 
Our  travellers  now  passed  by  several  rivers.  The 
Konzas  was  the  largest  of  these.  They  stopped  at  the 
mouth  of  Good  Woman  River,  and  killed  three  bears, 
and  some  rattlesnakes.  Rattlesnakes  you  know  are 
poisonous.  They  have  a  kind  of  bony  rattle  at  the 
end  of  the  tail.  They  never  bite  without  sounding 
this  rattle  first.  I  once  saw  an  Indian  boy  bit  by  one, 
and  he  soon  died.    Here  is  a  picture  of  a  Rattlesnake, 


""r^ 


The  captains  found  good  plums  on  the  river.  They 
met  a  man  going  down  the  river  in  a  canoe,  named 
Durion.  He  could  speak  the  language  of  the  Sioux 
Indians,  and  they  hired  him  to  go  with  them  for  an 
interpreter. 

After  this  our  travellers  passed  Grand  River,  and 
saw  a  strange  snake  that  made  a  noise  like  a  turkey* 
The  banks  kept  falling  into  the  river  all  the  time. 
They  found  thousands  of  musquitoes,  and  were  stung 
very  badly.  Then  they  saw  some  pelicans.  A  Pel- 
ican is  a  very  large  white  bird,  that  lives  on  fish.  It 
has  a  groat  bag  under  its  bill.     This  bag  will  hold 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


13 


four  or  five   gallons.     Sometimes  tlic  pelicans  fill 


these  bags  with  fish. 


The  party  continued  to  proceed,  and  saw  a  great 
many  deer,  and  parroquets,  and  wild  turkeys,  and 
beavers,  and  goslings,  and  swano,  and  wolves.  They 
killed  a  wolf,  and  they  passed  a  great  many  more 
rivers.  , 

I  suppose  you  never  have  heard  of  all  these  creatures ; 
so  I  will  show  you  pictures  of  them.  Here  is  a  Parro- 
quet,  which  is  a  beautiful  bird,  with  green  and  yellow 


feathers,  something  like  a  parrot,  and  can  be  easily 
taught  to  speak. 


( 


It 


IW 


/ 


I 


TALKS  OF  TRAVELS. 


17 


Hero  ia  a  wild  Turkey.    The  wild  turkeys  look 
very  mucJi  like  the  tame  ones. 


Here  is  a  Beaver;  his  fur  is  very  fine,  and  very 
valuable.    The  best  hats  are  made  of  it. 


A  Swan  is  a  large,  white,  beautiful  bird,  like  a 
goose. 


Notliinjr  can  be  more  graceftd  than  a  S^van  swmi- 
ing  on  the  clear  water.  Q^ 


18 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


The  Wolf  is  like  a  dog ;  he  is  a  hungry,  growling 
creature,  and  sometimes  attacks  men. 


m 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Barrows  or  Mounds. — Wolves. — How  the  two  Captaitis 
held  a  Council  loith  the  Indians  at  the  River  Platte. — 
About  the  Otoes. — Red  Pipe  Stone. 

A  FEW  days  afterwards,  our  travellers  found  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  some  of  those  mounds  of  earth,  or, 
as  they  are  sometimes  called,  barrows,  that  you  may 
have  heard  of.  There  are  a  great  many  of  them  in 
the  west.  There  is  one  at  St  Louis  more  than  a  hun- 
dred feet  high. 

I  have  seen  many  of  them  myself.  In  two  that  1 
saw  opened,  there  were  found  bones  of  men  and  pie- 
ces of  earthen  ware.  I  cannot  tell  you  who  raised 
these  mounds.  The  Indians  do  not  bury  their  dead 
60  now. 

Every  night  the  Captains  and  their  men  were  trou- 
bled in  a  way,  that  you  who  live  in  a  settled  country 
can  have  no  idea  of.  The  wolves  came  round  their 
boats,  and  howlef'  all  the  night  lon^. ,  and  beside  tliis, 


S 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


19 


' 


they  were  almost  devoured  by  musquitoes.  No  one 
escapes  from  tliese  troubles,  that  travels  beyond  the 
Mississippi 

They  stopped  at  the  river  Platte,  and  sent  to  the 
Indians  about  there,  to  come  and  see  them.  Some  of 
the  Otoes  and  Missouris  came.  They  gave  the  Cap- 
tains some  water  melons,  for  the  Otoes  raise  melons, 
beans,  and  a  little  corn ; — I  mean,  the  women  raise 
them ;  for  the  men  will  do  nothing  but  hunt,  and  make 
pipe-stems  and  bows  and  arrows. 

The  Otoes  are  a  very  small,  but  brave  tribe.  They 
do  not  live  in  any  settled  place,  but  roam  about  where 
they  can  find  deer  and  buffaloes.  Those  we  are 
speaking  about,  were  at  war  with  the  Mandans,  whom 
we  shall  come  to  by  and  bye.  One  of  their  chiefs 
was  named  the  Big  Horse,  and  another  the  Little 
Thief.  Our  Captains  gave  them  some  paint,  cloth, 
gunpowder,  and  three  medals,  and  they  promised  to 
make  peace  with  the  Mandans. 

A  driy  or  two  after  this,  the  party  passed  the  mouth 
of  tho  Red  Pipe  Stone  River,  where  the  Indians  get 
the  stone  to  make  their  pipes  of.  I  have  been  there 
myself,  and  will  tell  you  something  about  the  place. 

There  is  a  steep  rock,  that  hangi  over  the  river, . 
5ixty  or  seventy  feet  high.  Here  the  Indians  find  the 
pipe  stone.  It  is  red,  and  so  soft  that  it  may  be  cut 
with  a  knife  at  first,  but  it  soon  grows  [hard.  About 
the  quarry  there  is  no  wood,  excepting  what  grows 
on  the  banks  of  the  river.  It  is  all  a  bare  preirie,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  on  any  side,  but  buffaloes 
and  wolves.    The  wolves  always  follow  the  buUaloes, 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


and  when  one  of  them  falls  sick,  or  gets  hurt,  they 
kill  and  devour  him. 

The  air  here  is  very  sweet.  There  is  a  kind  of 
grass  on  the  prairies,  which  has  a  strong  and  sweet 
smell.  The  Indian  girls  make  wreaths  of  it,  to  wear 
on  their  heads.  You  can  see  the  river  many  miles 
up  and  down. 

The  next  day  the  Captains  had  a  council,  or  talk 
with  the  Indians.  Each  of  the  Indians  wore  a 
hlanket  and  a  pair  of  leathern  leggins  with  broad 
seams.  Each  wore  a  kind  of  shirt  made  of  white 
leather.  They  had  rings  in  their  ears,  and  some  of 
tliem  in  their  noses. 

Besides  this,  they  were  all  painted,  some  black, 
some  red,  and  ,5ome  green.  They  sat  down  in  a  ring, 
some  on  a  bench,  and  some  on  the  ground.  While 
Captain  Lewis  was  speaking,  they  listened  very  po- 
litely, and  not  one  offerea  to  interrupt  him.  When 
he  had  done,  they  spoke  one  by  one.  ,."  • 


CHAPTER  V. 


>:■<:. 


I 
I 


How  an  Indian  Chief  poisoned  many  People. — How  he  died 
.  .  and  how  he  was  buried. — Mout  the  Small  Pox. — How 
the  Travellers  caught  Fishes  in  a  Bush  JVet. —  What  the 
Captain  said  to  the  Indians. — Another  Talk  with  the  In- 
dians.— How  Charles  Flnjd  died. — About  a  strange 
Ilillf  and  little  Spirits. 

On  the   11th  of  August  the  travellers  came  co  the 
place  where  a  great  Omahaw  chief,  named  Blackbifd, 


,"i  :'t    I 


**.     •     A   t    ^ 


.<* 


22 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


is  buried.  This  man  bought  arsenic  and  other  poi- 
sons of  the  white  traders  who  came  there,  who 
taught  Iiim  how  to  use  it.  He  would  prophesy  that 
a  man  would  die,  and  then  poison  him,  that  his 
prophecy  might  come  to  pass. 

The  Omahaw  people  knew  nothing  of  his  poison, 
and  believed  him  to  be  a  great  prophet.  They  were 
all  afraid  of  h?m,  and  did  as  he  bade  them.  He  was 
a  terrible  tyrant.  At  last  he  died  of  the  small  pox. 
He  left  directions  how  he  would  be  buried,  and  these 
were  obeyel 

A  great  hole  as  dug  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  They  then  put  a  horse  into  it, 
and  placed  the  body  of  Blackbird  astride  upon  it. 
They  also  put  into  the  hole  his  gun,  and  all  his 
weapons  of  war,  and  a  great  many  other  things,  which 
they  thought  he  would  want  in  the  next  world.  Then 
they  covered  him  all  up  with  earth,  and  raised  a 
mound  over  him. 

His  face  had  been  placed  toward  the  river,  be- 
cause he  said  he  wished  to  see  the  traders  as  they 
came  up  the  stream.  They  placed  food  on  his  grave, 
and  continued  to  do  so  many  years  afterwards. 
Every  one  that  goes  up  or  down  the  Missouri,  sees 
Blackbird's  grave.  Four  hundred  Omahaws  died  of 
the  small  pox  at  the  same  time  that  this  chief  died. 

When  the  small  pox  came  among  these  Indians, 
they  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  Seeing  their 
people  die  in  great  distress,  and  that  they  could  not 
help  them,  they  became  mad.  Some  of  them  killed 
their  wives  and  children,  that  tliey  might  not  suffer 


ai 


6 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


23 


with  the  sickness.  Then  they  burnt  their  village, 
and  went  to  another  place. 

At  length  the  travellers  came  to  a  spot  on  the  river, 
wl^  ^re  they  tried  their  luck  at  fishing.  They  made  a 
net  of  bushes,  and  caught  more  than  a  thousand  fish. 
You  may  think  a  bush  net  a  strange  thing,  but  I  have 
seen  a  great  many  bush  nets,  and  I  assure  you  they 
do  very  well. 

The  next  day,  the  Otoes  and  Missouris  came 
again  to  see  the  two  Captains.  The  Captains  wanted 
to  make  peace  between  these  two  tribes  and  the 
Omahaws.  The  Indians  told"  them  how  the  war 
broke  out. 

They  said  that  two  of  the  Missouris  who  were  li- 
ving with  the  Otoes  had  gone  to  the  Omahaw  village 
to  steal  horses.  The  Omahaws  caught  the  two  Mis- 
souris and  killed  them,  and  that  had  caused  the  war. 
Now  you  must  know  that  the  Indians  on  the  Missou- 
ri consider  it  very  meritorious  to  steal  horses.  This 
may  seem  very  strange,  but  the  poor  Indians  have 
not  been  taught  better. 

The  next  day,  the  Captains  held  a  talk  with  these 
Indians,  and  gave  them  some  presents.  They  behav- 
ed very  politely.  I  will  tell  you  a  few  of  their  titles, 
to  show  you  what  strange  names  they  have.  There 
was  Crow's  Head,  Iron  Eyes,  Great  Blue  Eyes, 
Black  Cat,  Big  Ox,  and  Brave  Man.  They  tried 
to  (ret  some  whiskey  of  the  travellers,  but  they  did 
not  succeed,  for  the  Captains  knew  that  it  would  do 
them  more  hurt  than  good. 

The  day  after  this  talk,  one  of  the  soldiers  died, 
and  was  buried.    Guns  were  fired  over  the  grave. 


I', 


h' 


'M 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


and  a  cedar  post  was  set  up  to  mark  the  spot.  His 
name  was  Charles  Floyd, 

On  the  twentyfifth  of  August,  the  two  Captains,  and 
ten  of  their  men,  went  to  see  a  great  mound  near 
V^hitestone  River.  After  walking  nine  miles  across 
an  open  prairie  in  the  hot  sun,  they  came  to  it.  It 
was  larger  and  longer  and  higher  than  the  New 
Market  in  Boston.  They  climbed  to  the  top,  and 
found  a  beautiful  prospect. 

The  Indians  believe  that  this  mound  is  inhabited 
by  little  devils,  shaped  like  men,  with  great  heads, 
and  a  foot  and  a  half  high.  These  little  devils, 
they  say,  have  bows  and  arrows,  with  which  they  kill  all 
that  come  to  the  mound.  When  a  man  is  lost  in  the 
prairie,  they  think  he  has  been  killed  by  these  wick- 
ed little  spirits.  None  of  the  Indians  will  now  go 
near  the  place.  But  the  travellers  did  not  see  any  of 
the  little  spirits ;  and  I  venture  to  say  there  were 
never  any  there.  The  Indians,  as  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  tell  you,  have  many  very  absurd  superstitions  of  this 
sort  among  them. 

About  this  mound,  the  Captains  saw  a  great  many 
insects,  and  thousands  of  birds  were  catching  and 
eating  them.  Among  the  rest  were  some  martins, 
so  tame,  that  they  would  come  close  to  the  men* 
On  their  way  back  to  their  boats,  they  found  wild 
plums,  grapes,  and  currants,  as  good  as  those  you  find 
in  gardens. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  25 


CHAPTER  VI. 

How  Sergeant  Pry  or  went  to  the  Dahcotah  Camp,  and  hoio 
the  Dahcotahs  treated  him. — About  the  Dahcotahs,  and 
how  they  treat  their  Children. — How  the  Dahcotahs  came 
to  the  Boats,  and  what  they  did. — About  the  Peace  Pipe. 
— How  the  Dahcotahs  promised  to  behave  well. — What 
a  strange  Society  they  had  among  them. 

The  travellers  now  sent  Sergeant  Pryor  to  the 
Dahcotah  camp,  to  invite  the  Indians  to  come  and 
have  a  talk  with  them.  When  the  Sergeant  was 
nigh  to  the  village,  he  met  some  of  the  Indians,  who 
wanted  to  carry  him  into  the  camp  on  a  buffalo  robe 
as  a  mark  of  respect,  but  he  would  not  suffer  it  The 


I 


m 

i 


fl 


tents  or  houses  of  these  Indians  were  made  of  leath- 
er, and  shaped  like  a  sugar-loaf.    The  fire  was  made 

3 


I  ''     '  ' 

I     I  -   ' 

I    K 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


27 


in  the  middle,  and  a  hole  was  left  open  at  the  top  to 
let  the  smoke  out.  Each  tent  held  ten  or  fifteen  per- 
sons. 

As  soon  as  Sergeant  Pry  or  got  into  one  of  the  tents, 
a  squaw  spread  a  bearskin  for  him  to  sit  upon. 
Another  knocked  a  dog  on  the  head  with  a  hatchet 
and  killed  it.  Then  the  dog  was  held  in  the  fire  till 
all  the  hair  was  burned  off.  Then  it  was  cut  in  pie- 
ces, and  boiled.  When  it  was  done,  it  was  set  be- 
fore the  Sergeant  to  eat. 

This  is  the  way  the  Dahcotahs  receive  strangers. 
They  like  to  eat  dogs  better  than  anything  else,  and 
tlierefore  think  that  others  do.  They  are,  indeed,  not 
bad  food.    They  taste  something  like  mutton. 

The  men  in  the  Dahcotah  camp,  were  dressed  like 
the  other  Indians  I  told  you  about.  The  women 
wore  short  petticoats  and  leggins,  with  beads  about 
their  necks.  They  carried  their  children  about,  strap- 
ped to  a  board ;  and  when  they  had  anything  to  do, 
set  them  up  against  a  tree,  or  hung  them  to  a  branch. 
This  does  not  hurt  them :  it  is  very  seldom  you  hear 
an  Indian  child  cry. 

On  the  30th  of  the  month,  seventy  of  the  Dahco- 
tahs came  to  the  boats,  where  the  Captains  received 
them  under  a  great  oak  tree.  An  American  flag 
was  hoisted.  Captain  Lewis  made  a  speech,  and 
gave  the  Indians  some  piesents.  Then  one  of  the 
Indians  lighted  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  it  was  passed 
from  one  to  the  other,  till  each  one  had  smoked  a 
few  whific:.  Then  the  pipe  was  given  to  Captain 
Lewis  to  keep,  and  the  Indians  had  a  council  by 
themselves. 


I 

m 


0 


; 


88 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


The  bowl  of  the  peace  pipe  is  made  of  red  stone. 
The  stem,  which  is  of  wood,  is  more  than  a  yard 


long,  and  about  three  inches  broad.  It  is  ornamented 
with  porcupine's  quills,  beads,  ribbons,  and  horse-hair 
dyed  red.  On  the  whole,  the  peace  pipe  is  a  beau- 
tiful thing,  and  is  always  smoked  by  the  Indians,  on 
important  occasions. 


In  the  afternoon,  the  Indians  shot  at  a  mark  tv^ith 
their  arrows,  for  beads,  which  the  travellers  gave  to 
the  best  marksmen.  Then  they  all  danced  and  sung. 
Besides  the  music  of  voices,  they  had  drums  and  rat- 
tles. 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning,  the  chiefs  all 
sat  down  on  the  ground  in  a  row,  and  spread  some 
skins  for  the  Captains  to  sit  upon.  They  then  spoke, 
one  after  another,  promising*  to  behave  well,  and 
make  peace  with  their  enemies.    They  also  asked 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


90 


for  tobacco  and  whiskey.    Some  of  them  promised 
to  go  to  Washington  city,  and  see  the  President. 

These  Indians  were  stout,  handsome  men.  Some 
of  them  wore  necklaces  made  of  the  claws  of  the 
Grisly  Bears,  they  had  killed.  Most  of  them  were 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  which  they  use  very 
expertly ;  and  I  have  seen  one  of  them  drive  an  ar- 
row through  a  buffalo,  so  that  it  fell  on  the  other 
side.  They  sometimes  fight  their  enemies  on  horse- 
back ;  but  in  this  case  they  have  spears  and  some- 
times shields,  as  well  as  bows  and  arrows. 

On  the  next  page  you  will  see  a  picture  of  one  of 
these  warriors  on  horseback,  charging  his  enemy  with 
a  spear. 

The  Captains  found  four  men  among  them,  who 
belonged  to  a  curious  society.  At  first  it  consisted  of 
twentytwo.  They  had  agreed  with  one  another  ne- 
ver to  turn  aside  for  any  danger,  however  great.  As 
they  crossed  the  Missouri,  they  came  to  a  hole  in 
the  ice,  but  would  not  turn  aside  for  it.  The  fore- 
most ones  plunged  in  and  were  drowned,  and  the 
rest  would  have  followed,  if  they  had  not  been  drag- 
ged away  by  those  who  did  not  belong  to  the  society. 
As  they  never  took  any  care  of  themselves,  they 
were  all  dead  but  these  four  whom  the  Captains  saw. 


3* 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS.  31 

CHAPTER   Vn. 

*,9buiU  the  Poncara  Indians^  Mud   Village. — Jlbout  Prai 
ric  Dogs. — How  the  Captains  talked  with  the  Dahcotahsy 
and  how  they  attempted  to  rob  Captain  Clark. — How  they 
gave  the  White  Men  a  Dog  to  eat. — An  Indian  Dance.^- 
IIow  the  Dahcotahs  promised  to  make  Peace. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  the  travellers  came  to 
the  mud  village  of  the  Poncara  Indians.  The  sava- 
ges were  all  away  hunting.  One  of  the  soldiers  kill- 
ed a  buffalo  in  the  village.  The  current  of  the  river 
was  now  so  rapid,  that  the  party  were  often  obliged 
to  drag  their  boats  up  with  a  rope.  They  now  be- 
gan to  see  plenty  of  buffaloes,  deer,  elks^  and  wild 
turkeys.  They  also  saw  some  antelopes.  These 
are  beautiful  little  animals,  and  they  run  so  fast  that  no 
dog  nor  horse  can  overtake  them.  On  the  next  page 
is  an  engraving  of  two  of  these  animals.  The  travel- 
lers also  caught  some  catfishes,  which  are  very  large 
and  ugly.  They  look  much  like  the  fish  that  we 
call  pout. 

The  next  day,  they  came  to  a  village  of  prairie 
dogs,  or  marmots^  These  pretty  little  creatures,  are 
as  big  as  rabbits,  and  burrow  in  the  ground  like  them. 
When  they  see  a  man,  they  sit  up  and  bark ;  but  when 
he  comes  near,  they  run  into  their  holes.  They 
abound  on  the  Upper  Missouri.  At  page  32  is  a  pic- 
ture of  a  marmot  village.  The  travellers  also  saw 
deer  with  black  tails,  and  black  and  white  wolves. 

On  the  25th  Sept.,  they  had  a  talk  with  some  more 
of  the  Dahcotahs,  who  begged  very  hard  for  whis- 
key, and  were  very  saucy. .  When  the  Indians  crosiS- 


i! 


^-  / ' 


..V 


ANTELOPES 


>    PRAIRIE    DOG   VILLAGE 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


33 


ed  the  river  to  go  home,  Captain  Clark  went  over 
with  them  in  one  of  the  small  boats.  When  they  got 
on  shore,  the  Indians  laid  hands  upon  Captain  Clark'j" 
boat,  and  said  they  would  not  let  him  have  it,  if  he 
did  not  give  them  more  presents.  He  had  some  hard 
words  with  them,  and  at  last  they  offered  to  seize 
him.  He  drew  his  sword  to  defend  himself,  and  the 
Indians  fitted  their  arrows  to  their  bows.  At  this 
moment,  when  blood  was  about  to  be  shed,  the  peo- 
ple in  the  great  boat  pointed  a  small  cannon  at  the 
Indians,  and  ten  of  the  soldiers  came  across  to  help 
the  Captain.  Then  the  Indians  let  go  of  the  boat, 
and  talked  one  to  another.  Captain  Clark  offered 
to  shake  hands  and  be  friends  with  them,  but  they 
refused.  At  last  two  of  the  chiefs  went  back  to  the 
other  side  of  the  river  with  him. 

The  next  day,  the  Dahcotahs  seemed  to  be  in  bet- 
ter humc>r.  There  was  a  crowd  of  them  on  the  bank, 
and  Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Clark  went  on  shore. 
The  Indians  invited  them  to  a  dance.  They  took 
the  two  Captains  upon  buffalo  robes,  and  carried 
them  to  a  large  tent,  where  they  were  requested  to  sit 
down. 

They  were  treated  with  great  ceremony  and  civility. 
A  dog  was  set  before  them  to  eat,  as  well  as  buffalo 
flesh,  and  other  meat.  These  things  were  served 
up  in  wooden  bowls,  and  horn  bpoons  were  given  to 
the  visitors  to  eat  with.  Then  the  Indian  men  danced 
for  their  amusement. 

After  this,  the  women  danced,  with  poles  in  their 
hands,  to  which  were  tied  the  scalps  their  people 
had  taken  in  war.    There  was  a  great  beating  of 


■i¥i. 


34 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


drums,  and  singing,  and  shaking  of  rattles.  The 
men,  in  dancing,  would  jump  about,  but  the  squaws 
only  shuffled  from  side  to  side.  One  would  sing,  and 
all  the  rest  would  jom  in  the  chorus. 

These  Dahcotahs  had  with  them  twentyfive  Oma- 
haw  women,  whom  they  had  taken  in  war.  They 
promised  the  Captains,  that  they  would  restore  these 
captives  to  their  relations,  and  make  peace  with  the 
Omaliaws  and  with  the  Mandans  also. 


ft.- 


»«:■ » ••  t'-' 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


VV- 


'•^■ 


I 


How  ike  Dahcotahs  were  dressed. — How  an  Indian  beat 
two  Squaws  for  Quarrelling. — About  an  Indian  Consta- 
ble.— About  Leather  Boats. — Hoic  the  Ricarees  behaved. 
— A  Talk  tcUh  the  Ricarees,  and  ichat  they  said. — About 
their  mad  Houses. —  What  Images  there  are  on  Stone 
,  fdol  Creek. 

The  Dahcotahs,  of  which  I  have  been  telling  you, 
had  all  the  hair  shaved  off  their  heads,  except  a  small 
tuft  on  the  crown,  and  they  wore  a  great  many  eagle's 
feathers  in  the  littl«  hair  they  had  left.  They  were 
smeared  with  grease  and  charcoal.  In  other  respects, 
they  resembled  the  Indians  I  have  described  already. 
Some  of  the  bravest,  who  had  killed  enemies  in  bat- 
tle, had  skunk  skins  fastened  to  their  heels.  Each 
of  them  carried  in  his  hand  his  tobacco  pouch,  made 
of  the  skin  of  some  animal.  •    -    ^    '   -• 

The  women  had  their  hair  parted  on  their  fore- 
heads, and  tied  up  in  a  tlu'ck  queue  behind.    When- 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


35 


»«♦' 


ever  the  camp  moves  from  one  place  to  another,  they 
load  the  horses  and  dogs ;  for  dogs  are  made  to  work 
by  the  Indians.  What  the  horses  and  dogs  cannot 
carry,  the  women  carry  on  their  heads,  for  the  men 
will  carry  nothing  but  their  guns,  and  bows,  and  ar-  ., 
rows.  -;n-..*?^l?% 

While  the  Captains  were  with  the  Dahcotahs,,  tW     • 
of  the  squaws  quarrelled,  but  an  Indian  came,  «Bif-. 
beat  them  both.    This  man  was  a  kind  of  consta- 
ble, or,  as  the  Indians  call  him,  a  soldier,  and  it  is    '> 
his  business  to  prevent  disturbance.    He  is  at  liberty 
to  beat  anybody.    He  wore  a  raven  skin  on  his  head, 
and  two  or  three  more  in  his  belt.    These  were  the 
signs  of  his  authority. 

The  next  day  the  Dahcotahs  danced  again,  to 
amuse  the  travellers ;  but  toward  night  they  showed 
an  inclination  to  rob  them.  On  the  morrow  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  get  rid  of  these  Indians ; 
but  finally  the  Captains  and  their  men  went  forward 
in  peace.  As  they  went  along,  up  the  river,  they 
saw  many  more  of  the  Dahcotahs,  but  as  they  had 
already  received  such  treatment  from  tlie  tribe,  they 
would  have  nothing  to  say  to  them. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  they  came  to  an  island, 
three  miles  long,  in  the  river.  There  was  a  village 
of  Ricaree  Indians  on  it.  Here  the  travellers  saw 
the  squaws  paddle  across  the  river  in  leather  boats. 
These  boats  are  constructed  in  the  following  manner. 
In  the  first  place,  they  make  a  kind  of  frame  of  willow 
branches,  something  like  a  great  basket.  Then  they 
lay  the  frame  in  the  middle  of  a  raw  buffalo  ekin. 
They  gather  the  folds  all  round,  and  sew  them  to  tlie 


li 

iff! 


^5  ;* 


'^; 


■*■* 


36 


TAi^ES  OF  TRAVELS 


frame,  and  the  canoe  is  finished.  It  looks  outside 
like  a  great  tub. 

The  Ricarees  had  never  seen  a  negro,  and  were  sur- 
prised at  the  appearance  of  Capt.  Clark's  black  man, 
York.  York  told  them  that  his  master  caught  him  run- 
ning wild  in  the  woods,  and  tamed  him,  and  the  Indians 
believed  the  story.  These  Indians  would  not  drink 
the  whiskey  which  the  Captains  gave  them,  but  re- 
buked them  for  offering  them  any. 

A  council  was  held  with  the  Ricareef;,  like  those  held 
with  the  Dahcotahs  and  Otoes.  The  Indians  gave  our 
travellers  corn,  and  beans,  and  squashes,  and  behaved 
very  kindly.  One  of  the  chiefs  agreed  to  go  with  the 
boats,  and  make  peace  between  the  Mandans  and  his 
own  people. 

These  Ricarees  lived  in  houses  made  of  mud, 
each  with  a  hole  in  the  top  for  the  smoke  to  get  out. 
They  were  round  like  the  dome  of  the  State  House 
in  Boston,  and  about  as  large  inside  as  a  large  cham- 
ber.   They  were  very  warm  and  comfortable. 

On  the  thirteenth,  the  travellers  came  to  a  little 
stream,  called  Stone  Idol  Creek.  On  the  banks  they 
saw  two  rocks ;  one  looked  like  a  man  and  woman, 
and  the  other  like  a  dog.  One  of  them  had  some- 
thing like  a  bunch  of  grapes  in  its  hand.  The  Rica- 
rees have  a  very  strange  story  about  these  stones, 
which  I  will  tell  you.  _  .^ 

There  was  once,  according  to  this  story,  a  Ricaree, 
who  fell  in  love  with  a  Ricaree  girl,  and  wanted  to 
marry  her.  He  was  poor,  and  her  parents  would  not 
consent.  So  he  went  into  the  woods,  to  cry  about  it, 
and  his  dog  followed  him.  When  he  got  into  the  woods, 
he  found  the  girl  he  loved  there. 


! 


WEST  or  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


3T 


Then  they  agreed  to  run  away  together.  They 
wandered  up  and  down,  and  could  find  nothing  to  eat 
but  wild  grapes.  The  Great  Spirit  took  pity  on 
them,  and  changed  them  and  their  dog  into  stone,  and 
there  they  remain  now.  The  Ricarees  hold  them  in 
great  respect,  and  worship  them.  «» 

The  next  day,  one  of  the  Holdiers  was  whipped  by 
order  of  Captain  Lewis,  for  some  crime  he  had  com- 
mitted. There  was  an  Indian  chief  on  board,  who  had 
pity  on  the  soldier^  and  cried  all  the  time  the  punish- 
ment was  going  on.  The  day  after,  the  party  came 
to  some  more  Ricarees.  The  Indian  children  were 
afraid  of  black  York,  and  ran  away  from  him.    r 

On  the  sixteenth  of  the  month,  they  came  to  a  place 
where  the  Indians  had  driven  a  flock  of  Tiild  goats 
into  the  river.  They  were  shooting  them  with 
their  guns,  and  the  Indian  boys  were  killing  them 
with  sticks.  The  boys  alone  killed  fiftyeight.  On 
the  next  page  is  a  picture  of  one  of  these  Goats. 

The  next  day  the  travellers  met  two  Frenchmen 
coming  down  the  river  in  a  log  canoe.  They  had 
been  on  a  hunting  expedition,  but  the  Mandans  had 
taken  away  their  guns  and  traps,  and  the  skins  of  the 
creatures  they  had  killed.  The  Indians  are  very  apt 
to  commit  such  robberies. 

On  the  21st  they  came  to  a  great  oak  tree,  stand- 
ing alone  in  the  prairie — all  the  rest  of  the  trees  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Indians  think  that  this 
tree  can  do  wonderful  things.  They  cut  a  hole  in  the 
skin  of  their  necks,  and  put  a  string  through  it.  They 
tie  the  other  end  of  the  string  to  the  tree,  and  stand 
there  a  while.  They  think  this  makes  them  very  brave. 

4 


ROCKY  MOUNTAIN    GOAT, 


MmmWl^ 


THE   BOY   IN   THE   PRAIRIE. 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


39 


Six  days  after,  the  party  arrived  at  the  village  of  the 
Mandans.  Tlie  grand  chief  came  to  see  them.  One 
of  his  relations  had  lately  died,  and  he  had  cut  off 
two  joints  from  each  of  his  little  fingers,  to  show  his 
sorrow.  This  is  the  way  the  Mandans  go  in  mourn- 
ing. 

Capt.  Clark  and  some  of  the  soldiers  went  to  the 
village  and  smoked  with  the  people.  They  wanted 
him  to  eat  with  them,  but  as  he  was  sick,  he  refused. 
They  did  not  like  this  at  all,  and  thought  it  very  un- 
civil. But  the  squaws  gave  the  soldiers  corn,  and 
other  provisions. 

The  Captain  had  a  council  with  these  Indians,  and 
gave  them  some  presents.  In  the  night,  the  grass  in 
the  prairie  took  fire.  It  burnt  so  f^st,  that  a  man 
could  not  outrun  the  flames.  One  Mandan  and  his 
wife  were  burned  to  death,  and  another  man  with  his 
wife  and  child  were  burned  very  badly. 

There  was  one  woman  with  her  little  boy  in  the 
prairie,  when  it  took  fire.  The  little  boy  could  not 
run  fast,  so  she  made  him  lie  down,  and  then  threw  her 
buffalo  robe  over  him.  She  escaped  herself,  and  the 
boy  was  not  hurt.  The  flames  passed*  over  the  buffa- 
lo robe  without  burning  him.  The  burning  prairie 
is  a  terrible  thing,  and  a  good  many  Indians  perish 
in  the  flames. 

One  of  the  chiefs  invited  Capt.  Clark  to  the  village ; 
and  he  went  accordingly.  When  he  entered  the 
hut,  the  chief  made  him  sit  down  on  a  fine  skin,  and 
gave  him  a  beautiful  robe  of  skins.  Then  the  chief 
promised  to  make  peace  with  the  Ricarees,  and  re- 
turn the  things  that  had  been  stolen  from  the  two 


■  i 


40 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


Frenchmen.  He  also  gave  the  Captain  twelve  bush- 
ela  of  corn. 

The  Captains  now  concluded  to  stop  all  winter  at 
this  place.  So  they  began  to  cut  down  trees,  and 
build  huts.  In  seventeen  days,  they  built  eight  huts. 
These  were  made  of  great  logs,  and  the  chinks  were 
plastered  with  mud.  The  chimneys  were  also  built  of 
mud.  I  have  lived  in  such  houses  in  the  Indian  coun- 
try, and  found  them  very  comfortable. 

Then  the  party  set  about  killing  buiSUoes,  and  lay* 
ing  up  provisions.  There  were  five  Indian  villagea 
near  them.  These  consisted  of  Mandans,  Ahnaha-- 
ways,  and  Minnetarees,  or  Big  Bellies.  They  were 
all  very  kind  and  peaceable.  They  visited  the  huts 
every  day. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  an  Indian  came 
to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  called  for  a. 
boat.  He  said  he  had  news  for  the  white  men.  He 
was  soon  brought  across.  He  told  ^he  Captains  that 
as  the  Mandans  were  hunting,  the  Dahcotahs  had 
attacked  them  and  killed  one  man.  They  had  wound- 
ed two  more,  and  stolen  nine  horses.  The  Mandans 
thought  they  should  be  attacked  in  theiy  villages  by 
these  Dahcotahs. 

Capt.  Clark  now  went  with  twenty  three  of  his  sol- 
diers to  assist  the  Mandans.  The  Mandans  were  very 
much  pleased  with  this,  and  it  gained  the  white  men 
their  good  will.  ^        >. 


» 


^vf     % 


...I: 


'V^ 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


41 


CHAPTER  IX. 


*^bout  the  Mandans. — A  Mandan  Story, — How  the  White 
Men  spent  their  Time. — How  the  Minnciaree  Chief  came 
to  sec  them,  and  how  the  Indi  /'s  killed  Buffaloes  on  the 
Ice. — The  Party  sets  out  again. — About  Mrs  Chaboneau. 
— How  she  robbed  the  Mice. — About  Yellow  Stone  River, 
— Captain  Lewis  hills  a  Grisly  Bear. 

T'lE  Mandans  are  a  peaceable  and  good  kind  of 
people.  They  say  their  fathers  lived  a  long  time 
under  ground.  The  root  of  a  grape-vine  broke 
through  the  earth,  and  then  they  first  saw  the  sun- 
shine. A  great  many  of  them  climbed  up  the  grape- 
vine, and  got  on  the  prairie.  At  last  a  great  fat  wo- 
man tried  to  climb  up.  The  vine  broke  with  her 
weight — the  woman  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  cave,  and 
the  rest  of  the  Mandans  remained  under  ground. 
The  Mandans  think,  when  they  die,  they  shall  return 
to  their  friends  in  the  cave. 

The  weather  was  soon  very  cold ;  colder  than  you 
have  ever  known  it  to  be  where  you  live  ;  yet  the  trav- 
ellers were  able  to  kill  buffaloes,  and  the  Indians  still 
came  to  visit  them.  On  Christmas  day,  the  men 
danced  and  feasted,  and  all  were  happy.  On  New 
Year's  day,  the  soldiers  went  to  the  Mandan  village, 
and  danced  to  please  the  Indians.  They  were  delight- 
ed, and  gave  the  soldiers  corn  and  bufialo  robes. 

The  great  chief  of  the  Minnetarees,  who  had  but 
one  eye,  came  now  to  see  the  white  men.  He  said  some 
foolish  people  had  told  him  that  there  was  a  black 

4^' 


«  I 


48 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


man  among  them.  He  did  not  believe  it.  When 
York  came,  he  thought  he  was  painted.  He  spit  on 
his  skin,  and  tried  to  wash  off  the  paint.  He  could 
scarcely  believe  that  York  was  not  a  painted  white 
man. 

At  the  approach  of  spring,  the  travellers  saw  the  In- 
dians kill  buffaloes  on  the  ice.  These  creatures  try  to 
cross  the  river,  when  the  ice  is  breaking  up,  and  get 
afloat  on  cakes  of  it  They  cannot  walk  steadily  in 
this  way,  and  the  Indians  go  close  to  them,  and  stab 
them  with  their  knives. 

The  travellers  had  passed  the  winter  very  pleasantly. 
They  hunted  and  danced,  and  visited  the  Indians.  The 
blacksmith  made  tools  and  battleaxes  for  the  savages, 
and  they  gave  him  meat  and  corn  for  his  trouble. 
The  weather  was  very  cold,  and  some  of  the  men 
who  were  out  hunting  had  their  feet  frozen.  But  in 
the  huts,  they  were  warm,  and  had  plenty  to  eat 

On  the  7th  of  April,  they  set  out  to  pursue  their 
long  journey  in  their  boats.  There  were  tliirtytwo 
persons  on  board.  These  were  three  sergeants,  twen- 
tythree  privates,  the  two  captains,  the  black  man,  and 
two  interpreters.  One  of  the  interpreters,  who  was 
named  Chaboneau,  had  his  squaw  and  a  small  child 
with  him.  She  belonged  to  a  tribe  of  Indians  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  She  had  been  taken  prisoner 
when  she  was  a  child,  by  the  Mandans,  who  sold  her 
to  Chaboneau.  When  she  grew  up,  he  married  her. 
One  of  the  Mandans  also » went  with  the  party,  to 
make  peace  with  the  Snake  Indians.  They  all  start- 
ed in  eight  canoes,  made  of  wood. 

Two  or  three  days  after,  Mrs  Chaboneau  went  on 


! 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


43 


shore)  and  found  where  some  mice  had  made  their  nests 
in  the  ground.  She  dug  them  open,  and  got  a  bushel 
of  wild  artichokes  which  the  mice  had  gathered  and 
laid  up  for  their  winter  store.  The  Indians  frequent- 
ly rob  the  mice  and  squirrels  in  this  way  to  get  food  for 
themselves. 

On  the  23d,  the  travellers  killed  a  buffalo  calf,  and 
a  Mule  Deer.  This  latter  animal  is  a  fine  species  of 
deer,  peculiar  to  these  regions,  and  found  in  no  other 
part  of  the  world.  There  is  a  picture  of  one  on  the 
next  page. 

On  the  26th  of  the  month,  they  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone  River.  This  is  a  very 
large  stream,  that  comes  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  falls  into  the  Missouri.  It  is  quite  as 
large  as  the  Missouri  is  where  the  two  rivers  unite. 
Deer,  buffaloes,  elks,^  and  other  beasts,  are  found 
on  its  banks. 

On  the  29th,  Capt.  Lewis  went  on  shore,  with  one 
of  the  men,  to  hunt.  They  met  with  two  Grisly  Bears. 
They  fired  their  guns  at  these  animals,  and  wounded 
both.  One  ran  away,  but  the  other  came  towards  the 
hunters,  and  pursued  Capt.  Lewis  with  all  his  might. 
However,  the  creature  was  so  much  hurt  that  he  could 
not  run  fast,  and  Capt.  Lewis  loaded  his  gun  as 
he  ran,  and  shot  the  bear  again ;  the  other  man  did 
the  same,  and  then  he  fell  down  and  died.  He  was  a 
young  one,  but  weighed  three  hundred  pounds.  Ifhe 
could  have  caught  Capt.  Lewis,  he  would  have  torn 
him  to  pieces. 


v;: 


Q 
Q 

»-« 

H 
I 

M 
O 


H 


■•ihj(»^. 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


45 


CHAPTER  X. 

How  Captain  Clarl:  killed  a  Grisly  BeaVf  and  how  another 
was  near  devouring  some  of  the  People. — Mout  a  Pan- 
ther.— How  a  Buffalo  got  into  the  Camp. — How  the 
Indians  drive  Buffaloes  over  steep  Places. 


The  travellers  now  found  deer,  elks,  buffaloes,  wild 
goats,  and  wolves  very  abundant  along  the  bank  of  the 
river  Missouri,  which  they  were  ascending.  All  along, 
the  country  continued  to  be  an  open  plain  as  before. 
There  were  also  wild  ducks,  geese,  and  swans  in  great 
abundance,  on  the  water. 

On  the  5  th  day  of  May,  Capt.  Clark  and  one  of  the 
men  were  out  hunting.  They  came  across  a  very 
large  Grisly  Bear.  They  shot  ten  balls  into  him,  and 
he  ran  away,  roaring  terribly.  Though  he  was  so 
badly  hurt,  he  jumped  into  the  river,  and  swam  to  an 
island  in  the  middle.  There  he  laid  down,  and  in 
about  twenty  minutes  he  died. 

Nine  days  after,  as  the  party  were  sailing  along, 
they  saw  a  monstrous  Grisly  Bear  on  the  shore,  and 
six  of  the  men  got  out  to  kill  him.  They  approached 
pretty  near  to  him,  and  four  of  them  fired.  Every 
ball  entered  his  body. 

But  the  bear  was  not  killed :  he  ran  at  the  men  with 
his  mouth  wide  open.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  catch 
the  hindmost  of  them,  the  two  others  fired,  and  broke 
his  shoulder.  Then  he  came  at  them  again,  and  they 
jumped  into  their  canoe,  and  put  off  into  the  river.  He 
ran  so  fast,  though  his  shoulder  was  broken,  that  they 


IMP 


M 

» 


P4 


!«iP 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


47 


had  no  time  to  load  their  guns.  The  four  men  on 
the  shore  hid  themselves  in  the  willows,  and  kept 
firing  at  him.  The  often  er  they  hit  him,  the  angrier 
he  grew.  At  last  he  got  so  near  two  of  them,  that 
they  threw  away  their  guns,  and  jumped  into  the  riv- 
er. The  bear  jumped  in  too,  and  swam  after  them. 
Just  as  he  was  going  to  lay  hold  of  one  of  them  with 
his  teeth,  a  man  on  shore  shot  him  in  the  head,  and 
killed  him.  They  dragged  him  ashore,  and  found  that 
eight  balls  had  passed  through  his  body. 

The  hunters  now  entered  their  boats,  but  one  of 
them  forgot  his  coat  and  left  it  on  shore.  By  and  by  a 
Grisly  Bear  came,  and  they  saw  him  tear  it  to  pieces. 
The  same  day  the  people  saw  a  Panther  devouring*  a 
deer  that  he  had  killed.  They  fired  at  him,  and  hurt 
him,  but  he  got  away.  They  also  saw  a  great  many 
rattlesnakes. 

One  night,  the  travellers  had  gone  ashore,  made 
their  fires,  and  had  gone  to  sleep.  It  so  happened 
that  a  buffalo  took  it  into  his  head  to  swim  across  the 
river  where  their  canoes  were  lying.  He  ran  into  the 
camp,  and  was  very  nigh  trampling  some  of  the  men 
to  death.  As  soon  as  he  found  out  where  he  was,  he 
ran  up  and  down,  but  at  length  the  dogs  frightened 
him  away.  He  jumped  on  some  guns,  and  broke 
them  in  pieces. 

On  the  twentyninth,  they  came  to  a  very  high  steep 
rock.  Beneath  it  were  thousands  of  buffalo  bones. 
Mrs  Chaboneau,  who  was  a  Snake  Indian,  said  that  her 
countrymen  had  been  killing  buffaloes  at  this  place, 
and  she  told  how  they  killed  them. 

One  of  the  young  Indians  goes  and  puts  on  a  buffalo 


■■  '-ii 


til 


n 


ir 


if: 


m 


^^H>\      w 


H 


M 


< 


n 


mn 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


49 


skin,  horns  and  all,  so  that  he  looks  quite  like  a  buifalo. 
Then  he  gets  near  a  drove  of  buffaloes,  and  goes  be- 
fore them.  They  think  it  is  a  buffalo,  and  follow 
him.  When  he  has  got  them  near  the  precipice,  a 
number  of  Indians  show  themselves  behind  the  drove. 
The  buffaloes  are  frightened,  and  run  off  as  fast  as  they 
can  afler  the  mock  buffalo,  who  leads  them  straight 
to  the  precipice.  There  he  hides  suddenly  in  a  hole. 
The  creatures  behind  push  on  those  before,  and  they 
all  go  over  the  precipice  together.  Thus  hundreds  are 
killed.  Sometimes  the  disguised  Indian  is  trampled 
to  death. 


(  ; 


f  ^* 


mi: 


m 


m- 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Travellers  come  to  a  Fork  in  the  River, — How  a 
Grisly  Bear  chased  a  Man  up  a  Tree. — About  the  Falls 
of  the  Missouri. — How  Captain  Lewis  was  near  being 
killed  by  a  Grisly  Bear. — How  he  slept  close  to  a  Rat- 
tlesnake.— How  the  Bears  troubled  the  People. — Cap- 
tain  Clark  is  near  being  drowned. — About  the  Gates  of 
the  Missouri. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  the  party  came  to  a  place  where 
the  river  divided  into  two  branches.  They  were 
puzzled  which  to  ascend.  So  they  concluded  to 
divide  into  two  parties,  and  travel  a  day  and  a  half  up 
each  of  them.  Capt.  Clark  took  one,  and  Capt.  Lewis 
the  other.  Capt.  Lewis  and  his  men  had  a  hard  time 
of  it,  with  rain  and  storms.  They  went  on  foot  along 

5 


^1^1 


,   '.> 


.  i 


/ 


'■*       i 


II 


50 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


the   shore,  and  were  near  falling  over  some  steep 
rocks,  and  being  dashed  to  pieces. 

Capt.  Clark  did  not  have  so  much  difficulty ;  but 
one  of  his  men  was  chased  by  a  grisly  bear,  and  when 
he  tried  to  shoot  it,  he  found  his  gun  was  wet,  and 
would  not  go  off.  So  he  was  obliged  to  run  and  climb 
up  a  tree,  but  the  bear  was  so  near  him,  that  he 
touched  him  with  his  claws  as  he  ascended.  There 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree  the  beast  remained,  and  watched 
him  some  time.  At  last  the  people  came,  and  scared 
him  away,  and  the  man  came  down  again. 

The  two  parties  returned  at  the  time  appointed, 
and  met  again  at  the  fork,  but  yet  they  could  not  tell 
which  of  the  branches  was  the  Missouri.  So  Capt. 
Lewis  went  up  the  south  branch,  to  see  if  he  could 
find  the  falls  which  they  knew  were  in  the  Mis- 
souri. Four  men  went  with  Captain  Lewis.  The 
party  soon  saw  two  grisly  bears,  and  killed  them 
without  any  trouble. 

The  thirteenth  day  of  the  month,  they  came  to  the 
great  falls  of  the  Missouri.  The  first  fall  was  eighty 
feet  high.  It  was  very  beautiful.  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  foam  here,  and  a  bright  rainbow  when  the  sun  shines. 

Five  miles  farther  up,  there  is  another  fall,  nineteen 
feet  high.  Just  above  is  another,  fifty  feet  high.  Far- 
ther up  there  is  another  of  fourteen  feet.  Two  miles 
beyond  this  there  is  another.  Just  at  the  foot  of  the  lat- 
ter is  a  small  island.  Capt.  Lewis  sew  on  this  island 
a  very  tall  tree,  with  an  eagle's  nest  on  the  top,  and 
an  eagle  in  the  nest.  ' 

All  along  between  these  falls  the  river  is  full  of 
rocks  and  whirlpools.  The  travellers  were  delighted 
with  the  wild  scene  which  these  cataracts  presented. 


1  y 

8 

1 

a 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

i> 

{ 

i 

WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


51 


/ 


After  looking  a  long  time  at  the  falls,  Capt.  Lewis, 
finding  that  his  men  were  in  want  of  food,  went  out 
to  shoot  a  buffalo.  At  length  he  came  near  one  of 
these  animals,  and  shot  him.  Before  he  could  load 
his  gun  again,  he  was  attacked  by  a  grisly  bear. 

This  happened  in  the  middle  of  a  plain.  There  was 
no  tree  near,  and  he  was  obliged  to  run  for  his  life. 
The  bear  ran  the  fastest,  and  Capt.  Lewis  thought  he 
had  better  get  into  the  river,  which  was  near.  So 
he  ran  in  up  to  his  middle,  and  turned  round. 

He  had  an  espontoon  or  spear  in  his  hand.  This 
he  pointed  at  the  bear.  As  soon  as  the  bear  came  to 
the  water-side,  and  saw  how  the  Captain  was  prepared 
to  receive  him,  he  became  frightened  in  his  turn,  and 
ran  away  as  fast  as  he  could. 

That  night  Capt.  Lewis  was  tired,  and  slept  very 
soundly.  In  the  morning,  when  he  got  up,  he  found 
a  rattlesnake  close  to  the  place  where  his  head  had 
lain. 

After  Captain  Lewis  had  satisfied  himself  that  he 
had  ascended  the  right  river,  he  sent  a  man  down  to 
Capt.  Clark  with  directions  to  have  him  and  the  men 
come  forward  to  the  place  where  he  was.  Accor- 
dingly, Capt  Clark  and  the  men  arrive  d  in  a  few 
days. 

On  the  25th,  one  of  the  party  came  near  being  de- 
voured by  a  bear.  The  men  killed  several  bears 
about  the  falls.  These  creatures  troubled  them 
all  the  while  they  were  near  this  place.  One  night 
Capt.  Clark  and  three  others  took  up  their  lodging  in 
the  dry  bed  of  a  stream.  In  the  night  it  rained  very 
hard,  and  the  water  came  suddenly  pouring  down 
the  channel  with  great  violence. 


m;  I 


52 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


w 


They  were  very  near  being  drowned.  As  it  was, 
they  lost  their  guns  and  many  other  articles. 

The  travellers  finding  they  could  not  get  their 
large  canoes  round  the  falls,  made  small  ones.  Oppo- 
site where  they  were  at  work,  there  was  an  island 
full  of  bears.  When  their  canoes  were  done,  they 
crossed  over,  to  attack  them.  But  it  happened  that 
all  the  bears  ,were  gone  but  one.  This  they  attacked 
and  killed.  After  this  they  saw  no  more  bears  near 
the  falls.    The  travellers  now  proceeded  on  their  way. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  they  came  to  a  place,  where 
the  perpendicular  rocks  rise  to  the  height  of  1200  feet 
on  each  side  of  the  river.  They  continue  so,  for  more 
than  five  miles.  This  place  is  called  the  Gates  of 
the  Missouri.  * 


CHAPTER  XIL 


JTiey  come  to  the  Great  Forks. — Captain  Letois  sees  a  Sho- 
shonee  Indian. — He  meets  with  more  Shoshonees. 
— How  the  Indians  hunted  the  Wild  Goats  on  Horse- 
hack. — How  Captain  Letois  made  a  Pudding. 

The  travellers  were  now  very  near  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  They  looked  about  for  Indians,  but  found 
none.  But  they  saw  their  foot  prints,  and  smokes  at 
a  distance.  They  saw  bears,  deer,  and  beavers. 
They  came  to  a  place  where  the  river  divides  into 
three  branches.  This  place  is  now  called  the  Upper 
Forks  of  the  Missouri.       ^  .  ? 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


53 


These  branches  tliey  named  Jefferson,  Madison, 
and  Gallatin  Rivers.  You  will  find  them  on  the 
map.  They  went  on,  up  the  southwest  or  Jefferson 
branch,  and  found  currants  and  gooseberries  on  its 
banks. 

Capt.  Lewis  took  three  men  with  him,  and  set  out 
to  try  to  find  some  Indians.  He  wanted  them  to  show 
him  the  way  across  the  mountains,  to  Columbia  River. 
•  On  the  11th  of  August,  he  was  delighted  to  see  a 
man  on  horseback  at  a  great  distance.  This  man  was 
mounted  on  a  beautiful  horse  without  any  saddle,  and 
with  a  rope  for  a  bridle.  He  was  a  Shoshonee  or  Snake 
Indian,  and  had  never  seen  a  white  man  before.  He 
was  afraid  of  Capt.  Lewis,  and  when  he  got  pretty 
near  him,  he  whipped  his  horse,  and  rode  away  as  fast 
as  he  could.  The  Captain  was  grieved  and  disap- 
pointed at  this. 

On  the  12th,  the  travellers  came  to  the  source  of  the 
Missouri.  It  is  a  little  spring  in  the  mountains.  They 
then  crossed  some  of  the  mountains,  which  are  very 
high.  At  length  they  came  to  one  of  the  branches 
of  the  Columbia  River. 

On  the  13th,  Capt.  Lewis  and  some  of  his  men  left 
the  party  and  went  out  a  hunting.  As  they  were 
crossing  a  plain,  they  saw  a  man,  two  women,  and 
sometlogs,  a  great  way  off,  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  When 
the  Captain  had  got  pretty  near  them,  they  all  ran 
away  but  the  dogs. 

He  then,  with  his  men,  followed  the  tracks  of  the 
Indians.  When  he  had  gone  a  mile,  he  saw  two 
women  and  a  girl.  One  of  them  ran  off,  but  the 
other  two  remained,  and  bowed  their  heads.    They 


54 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


expected  to  be  killed ;  and  stooped  to  receive  the 
blow, — for  this  is  the  way  with  Indians. 

But  Captain  Lewis  laid  down  his  gun,  and  stripped 
up  his  sleeves  to  show  them  he  was  a  white  man. 
But  he  had  been  so  long  in  the  sun,  that  he  was  near- 
ly as  dark  as  an  Indian.  His  men  came  up,  and  he 
gave  the  squaws  some  beads,  awls,  and  paint. 

Captain  Lewis  now  asked  the  two  women  to  show 
him  where  their  people  were.  They  showed  him  the 
way,  and  before  long  he  met  sixty  Indians,  riding  on 
horseback.  Three  of  them  got  off  their  horses,  and 
took  the  Captain  in  their  arms,  and  hugged  him.  Then 
the  rest  got  off  and  hugged  the  Captain  and  his  men. 
The  Indians  pulled  off  their  moccasins,  which  is  their 
way  of  showing  friendship. 

Then  they  all  smoked  together,  and  the  party  went 
with  the  Indians  to  their  camp.  The  tents  were  made 
of  leather,  and  there  they  all  smoked  again.  This 
camp  was  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  the  Indiana 
gave  the  white  men  salmon  to  eat.  They  were  very 
kind  and  friendly.  They  told  Capt.  Lewis  that  the 
way  across  the  rest  of  the  mountains  was  rough  and 
hard  to  travel. 

Capt.  Lewis  saw  these  Indians  chase  the  wild  goats 
on  horseback.  One  of  them  would  chase  a  goat  till 
his  horse  was  tired.  Then  another  would  try,  and 
then  another,  till  at  last  the  goat  was  wearied  out  and 
killed.    These  Indians  were  of  the  Snake  tribe. 

Capt.  Lewis  had  only  two  pounds  of  flour  lefl,  but  of 
this  he  made  a  pudding,  and  gave  half  to  the  Indians. 
They  had  never  seen  any  bread  or  flour  before,  but 
they  liked  the  "pudding  very  much,  and  thought  it  was 
made  of  roots. 


' 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


55 


CHAPTER  Xin. 


The  Skoshonees  go  with  Capt.  Lewis  to  the  Place  where 
Captain  Clark  is  waiting. — Mrs  Chaboncau  finds  her 
Relations. — The  Captains  buy  Horses ^  and  Captain 
Clark  goes  to  explore  the  Columbia  River. — He  meets 
with  a  good  many  Indians,  and  sees  them  spear  Sal' 
mon. — They  pass  over  high  Mountains. 

Capt.  Lewis  now  desired  the  Indian  Chief  and  his 
men  to  go  with  him  to  the  place  where  he  had  left 
Capt.  Clark.  This  chief  was  named  Cameahwait 
The  chief  was  willing  to  go,  but  the  men  were  not. 
They  were  afraid  the  white  men  would  do  them  mis- 
chief. At  last,  Capt.  Lewis  persuaded  them  to  go. 
On  the  way,  one  of  the  white  men  killed  a  deer,  and 
the  Indians  were  so  hungry  that  they  ate  it  raw. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  the  month  they  came  to 
the  place  where  Capt.  Clark  remained  with  the  boats. 
Mrs  Chaboneau,  as  I  have  told  you,  was  of  the  Snake 
tribe  of  Indians. 

Among  the  savages  who  came  with  Capt.  Lewis, 
she  found  her  brother  and  sister.  The  chief  was  her 
brother.  They  were  very  glad  to  see  each  other. 
Then  there  was  a  council,  and  a  smoking,  and  a  great 
many  compliments  on  both  sides. 

The  Captains  told  the  Indians  where  they  were 
going,  and  asked  them  to  sell  them  some  horses,  to 
carry  their  furs  and  other  things.  They  also  asked  the 
Indians  to  show  them  the  way  across  the  mountains. 
They  promised  to  do  both,  and  the  Captains  gave  them 
medals,  cloth,  tobacco,  and  other  articles. 


.i^'i 


if 


50 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


i 


I 


The  Slioshonees,  or  Snake  Indians,  were  astonislied 
at  every  thing  they  saw  in  tlie  canoes.  They  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  such  things  before.  They 
wondered  a  great  deal  at  black  York.  His  appearance 
they  attributed  to  some  strange  medicine,  or  witch- 
craft. 

Capt.  Clark  now  set  off  with  some  of  the  men,  to 
go  along  the  Columbia,  to  examine  the  river,  and  see 
if  they  could  proceed  down  in  canoes.  Before  he  de- 
parted he  traded  with  the  Indians,  and  bought  some 
horses.  He  obtained  several  for  what  would  not  be 
worth  twenty  dollars  in  Boston.  One  of  them  he 
bought  for  a  check  shirt,  a  pair  of  leggins,  and  a  knife. 
The  Indians  were  delighted,  arr^  thought  they  had 
made  wonderful  bargains. 

On  the  19th,  as  Capt.  Clark  was  going  along  among 
the  hills,  he  met  a  good  many  Indians.  He  stopped 
and  smoked  with  them,  and  they  gave  him  berries  and 
dried  salmon  to  eat.  One  of  them  told  him  all  about 
the  road,  and  the  Captain  gave  him  a  knife,  with  which 
he  was  much  pleased. 

On  the  21st,  he  came  to  some  more  Shoshonees. 
They  gave  him  salmon  and  choke-cherries.  They  had 
a  kind  of  wooden  dam  across  the  river,  to  catch  sal- 
mon in.  There  were  gaps  in  the  dam,  and  in  these 
gaps,  were  baskets,  like  the  eel-pots  our  fishermen 
use.  When  the  salmon  try  to  get  up  the  river,  they 
run  into  the  baskets,  and  cannot  get  out  again. 

The  Shoshonees  are  very  honest.  One  of  them 
found  a  tomahawk  that  Capt.  Clark  had  lost,  and  re- 
turned it  to  him.  Now  a  tomahawk  was  worth  a  hun- 
dred dallars  to  a  Shoshonee.    This  is  therefore  a 


VM 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


5/ 


Striking  proof  of  the  Indian's  integrity.  The  next 
day,  the  Captain  saw  the  Indians  spearing  fish,  and 
they  gave  him  five  salmon. 

On  the  twentysecond,  Captain  Clark  and  his  men 
came  to  very  high  and  steep  mountains.  Their  way 
was  among  great  rocks,  strewed  so  thickly  that  it  was 
very  difficult  and  dangerous  for  the  horses. 

At  length  they  crossed  the  mountains,  and  there 
they  saw  more  Indians,  who  were  frightened  at  them 
and  ran  away.  No  white  man  had  ever  been  there 
before,  and  it  was  natural  that  the  ignorant  savages 
should  be  afraid  of  people  who  looked  so  strangely  to 
them. 


;? ;!( 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Description  of  the  Country  Capt.  Clark  saw. — Mout  Co- 
lumbia River. — How  the  Men  were  almost  starved. — 
How  the  Indians  live  a  great  while  without  eating. — 
What  Capt.  Lewis  and  his  Men  did. — How  Drewyer  was 
nigh  being  robbed. 

Osf  the  twentythird,  the  party  came  to  some  steep 
rocks  close  by  the  river,  where  the  horses  could  not 
pass.  So  they  had  to  enter  the  river,  and  swim  past 
the  rocks.  The  country  here  was  not  like  that  along  the 
Missouri.  There  were  no  beautiful  plains,  no  buffa- 
loes, and  not  many  animals  of  any  kind.  But  there 
were  steep  rocks,  and  barren  hills,  and  high  moun- 
tains without  any  trees.    All  was  sad  and  gloomy. 


I  i  ■  - 


im 


\:.'\ 


58 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


> 


I 


i-i 


When  they  had  swam  their  horses  by  the  rocks, 
Capt.  Clark  went  forward  himself  with  three  men, 
leaving  the  rest  behind.  They  climbed  over  steep 
hills  and  terrible  precipices,  and  at  last  came  to  an 
Indian  path  along  another  branch  of  the  Columbia 
River.  The  river  was  full  of  rocks  and  dangerous 
places,  which  are  called  rapids  in  the  western  coun- 
try. Then  he  went  on  till  he  could  see  the  other 
side  of  the  mountains  through  a  gap. 

At  length,  having  found  they  could  not  get  through 
the  mountains  on  that  branch  of  the  river,  Capt. 
Clark  returned  to  the  place  where  he  had  left  his  men. 

He  found  them  almost  starved.  They  had  only  had 
a  few  birds,  and  some  berries  to  eat  while  they  had 
been  there.  One  of  the  men  was  sick,  but  the  party 
all  started  to  go  back  to  join  Capt.  Lewis  and  his 
men. 

They  could  only  catch  a  few  fishes  on  their  way, 
and  the  Indians  they  saw  had  little  or  nothing  to  eat 
They  suffered  very  much  from  hunger.  The  Indians 
are  used  to  hunger.  They  can  go  seven  or  flight 
days  without  eating,  and  they  fast  one  or  two  days 
without  caring  for  it  But  it  is  very  different  with 
white  men. 

I  must  now  tell  you  what  happened  to  Capt.  Lewis 
and  his  party,  while  separated  from  Capt.  Clark  and 
his  men.  As  it  was  concluded  to  cross  the  mountains, 
they  began  to  make  preparations  for  this  purpose. 
One  morning  while  the  people  were  engaged  in  mak- 
ing these  preparations,  some  of  the  men  went  out  to 
hunt.  One  of  the  hunters  was  named  Drewyer. 
While  he  was  looking  for  deer,  he  saw  two  Indians, 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


00 


three  squaws,  and  a  boy.  One  of  the  Indians  was  old, 
but  the  otlier  was  young.  Drewyer  rode  up,  to  talk 
with  them.  At  length  he  took  the  bridle  off  his  horse, 
and  turned  hiin  out  to  graze.  After  a  while,  the 
squaws  went  to  catch  their  horses,  and  Drewyer  laid 
down  his  gun  and  went  to  catch  his  horse  too. 
While  he  was  gone,  the  Indians  got  ready  to  ride 
away. 

The  young  Indian  picked  up  Drewyer's  gun,  and 
he  with  the  other  Indians  mounted  their  horses  and 
scampered  off  as  fast  as  they  could.  By  this  time 
Drewyer  had  caught  his  horse,  and  he  rode  after  them ; 
but  he  rode  ten  miles  before  he  overtook  them.  As 
he  came  near  them,  the  women  set  up  a  terrible  cry. 
At  this  the  young  Indian  turned  about  and  rode  around 
them  in  a  circle.  Drewyer  came  up  and  asked  him 
tor  his  gun,  but  the  Indian  would  not  give  it  to  him. 

Suddenly,  while  the  Indian  was  thinking  of  some- 
thing else,  Drewyer  rode  up  to  him,  and  laid  hold  of 
his  gun.  The  Indian  did  not  like  to  give  it  up,  but 
Drewyer  was  a  very  strong  man,  and  forced  him  to 
let  it  go.  Then  the  young  Indian  rode  away  and  left 
the  women  with  Drewyer.  Drewyer  did  not  hurt  them 
however.  But  he  picked  up  the  things  they  had 
dropped  in  their  fright,  and  carried  them  off  as  a  re- 
ward for  the  trouble  they  had  given  him.  These 
consisted  of  bags,  skins,  roots,  berries,  and  many 
other  things. 


5f 


•: ,  ■  ii 

'!  =  ■. 
I 

m 

m 

ml 


■1 
jt<i 


^ 


m 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


CHAPTER  XV. 


■  !  u. 


;    H' 


M' 


How  the  Shoshonces  behaved. —  What  the  Travellers  did 
toith  their  Canoes. — How  they  went  over  Mountains.—' 
Ahoiit  the  Shoshonee  Village. — Hoic  the  Soldiers  fiddled 
and  danced. — Description  of  the  Shoskonees. 

I  CANNOT  tell  you  to  what  tribe  the  Indian  belonged 
who  carried  off  Drewyer's  gun.  But  I  suspect  he 
was  not  a  Shoshonee.  Some  of  these  people  came  to 
the  party  almost  every  day ;  they  were  all  poor  and 
miserable,  and  naked.  But  they  stole  nothing.  They 
sold  Captain  Lewis  a  good  many  horses,  but  never 
offered  to  take  anything,  unless  it  were  given  to  them. 
They  appeared  to  be  a  kind  and  honest  tribe  of  In- 
dians. At  length  the  preparations  for  proceeding  over 
the  mountains  were  all  made.  The  articles  that  Capt. 
Lewis  could  not  carry  were  buried  in  the  earth,  so 
that  htj  might  find  them  on  his  return.  The  boats 
were  sunk  in  the  river,  to  prevent  their  being  burned 
when  the  Indians  set  the  grass  on  fire.  All  things 
being  ready,  the  party  moved  forward,  in  company  with 
the  Shoshonee  Indians  and  their  guides. 

The  weather  was  very  ccild,  but  still  they  proceed- 
ed on  their  march. 

Some  of  the  baggage  was  on  the  horses,  some  the 
men  carried  on  their  backs,  and  the  Indians  carried 
some  things  also.  The  tops  of  the  mountains  were 
covered  with  snow,  and  all  arourd  was  bare  and  des- 
olate. The  party  had  not  much  to  eat,  but  they  dug 
up  roots,  and  did  as  well  as  they  could.    They  found 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


61 


some  flowers,  and  sun-flowers  among  the  rest.  They 
ate  the  seeds  of  these.  At  last  they  came  to  the 
Shoshonee  village. 

There  was  one  leather  wigwam  in  this  village.  All 
the  rest  were  made  of  bushes.  These  may  seem 
strange  houses  to  live  in,  but  I  have  seen  a  great  many 
such.  This  village  was  on  the  bank  of  a  beautiful 
clear  river.  At  this  place  Captain  Lewis  found  a 
man  whom  Capt.  Clark  had  sent  to  let  him  know  that 
they  could  not  get  throiV'h  the  mountains  by  water 
in  the  direction  they  had  taken.  The  travellers  tried 
to  buy  more  horses  of  the  Indians  at  the  Shoshonee 
village,  but  they  could  not.  The  men  had  a  fiddle  with 
them,  and  the  soldiers  danced,  though  they  had  very 
little  to  eat,  and  were  pinched  with  hunger.  The 
Indians  were  delighted  with  the  dancing  and  the 
music. 

I  have  told  you  a  good  deal  of  the  Shoshonees ; 
but  they  are  an  interesting  people,  and  I  will  now 
tell  you  something  more  about  their  history,  their 
manners,  and  customs.  There  are  about  four  hun- 
dred of  them.  They  once  lived  on  the  plains  of  the 
Missouri,  but  the  Minnetarees  killed  some,  and  drove 
the  rest  into  the  mountains.  Sometimes  they  live 
on  one  side  of  the  mountains,  sometimes  on  the  other. 
When  they  are  almost  starved,  they  go  to  the  Missou- 
ri, to  kill  buffaloes,  but  the  Minnetarees  attack  and 
kill  them  whenever  they  can  find  them  there. 

They  have  a  great  many  horses,  and  ride  almost 
constantly.  They  are  a  brave  people  too,  but  they 
have  no  guns,  and  therefore  they  are  not  a  match  for 
the  Minnetarees.    Every  man  among  the  Shoshonees 

6 


lii 


M^ 


'i'''"M 


?K 


1    ■■ 


^SirmSSamuwffmSSI^i 


62 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


I 


has  as  many  wives  as  he  pleases.  The  women  do  all  tlie 
labor  of  the  families.  The  people  never  whip  their 
children  for  anything.  They  are  cruel  in  war,  and 
scalp  their  enemies  ;  but  in  peace,  they  are  kind  and 
good-natured.  Their  bows  are  made  of  elk-horns, 
and  the  strings  are  made  of  the  sinews  of  elks  and 
buffaloes.    The  men  have  shields  also  for  defence. 

For  knives,  they  use  sharp  flints.  They  make  pots 
of  earthen  ware,  to  boil  their  victuals  in,  and  they 
kindle  a  fire  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of  wood  together. 

These  people  are  short,  have  large  feet,  and  crook- 
ed legs.  The  men  wear  a  robe,  a  tippet,  a  shirt,  leg- 
gins,  and  moccasins,  all  made  of  skins. 

They  sleep  with  their  clothes  on,  and  have  no  cov- 
ering but  their  robes.  The  tippets  are  very  hand- 
some. The  women  dress  nearly  in  the  same  way  as 
the  men,  but  their  clothes  are  longer. 

The  children  wear  beads  round  their  necks,  but  the 
grown  people  wear  them  in  their  hair  and  ears.  Tlioy 
are  fond  of  decorating  their  heads  with  the  wings  and 
tails  of  birds. 

They  make  ornaments  of  sea-shells,  the  back  hou  j 
of  fishes,  bears'  claws,  fox  skins,  and  many  other 
things.  When  they  are  arrayed  in  this  strange  man- 
ner, they  think  themselves  as  finely  dressed  as  white 
people  do  when  sJjining  with  gold  and  jewels. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


63 


he 
Mr 
id 
id 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

How  the  Travellers  went  over  the  Mountains,  and  saw 
wild  Sheep. — About  the  Ootlashoots. — Hoio  the  White 
Men  suffered  in  travelling. — About  the  Chopunnish. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  Capt.  Clark  joined  Capt.  Lewis 
again.  He  had  bought  thirty  horses  of  the  Indians. 
Beside  this,  they  now  began  to  find  duer,  and  conse- 
quently to  live  better.  The  next  day,  they  took  six 
Indians  for  guides,  and  bade  the  Shoshonees  good-bye. 
They  kept  on  over  the  hills  and  mountains,  and  at 
night  slept  on  the  banks  of  rivers.  The  horses  could 
hardly  get  over  the  mountains,  for  they  kept  slipping 
and  falling  down.  Some  of  them  were  hurt.  Two 
soon  gave  out,  and  were  left  behind. 

On  the  fourth  of  September,  the  travellers  saw  some 
white  sheep,  with  large  horns.  But  they  were  so  wild 
that  they  could  not  get  near  them.  The  proper  name 
of  these  sheep  is  Argali.  At  night  they  came  to  a 
camp  of  Ootlashoot  Indians,  who  received  them  very 
kindly.  They  threw  white  robes  over  the  soldiers 
and  smoked  with  the  Captains.  These  people  sold 
the  travellers  seven  more  horses. 

The  Ootlashoots  wear  their  hair  in  otter  skin  queues. 
For  clothes,  they  wear  a  robe,  a  leathern  shirt,  leg- 
gins  and  moccasins.  The  women  let  their  hair  hang 
loose  and  tangled  down  their  shoulders.  When  these 
people  talk,  they  make  a  noise  like  the  clucking  of  a 
hen.  Two  days  afterwards,  the  party  left  the  Ootlas- 
hoots, and  proceeded  on  their  way.    They  now  began 


t  ' 


Ms 


■!r :. 


en 


O 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


C5 


to  be  short  of  food  again,  and  the  weather  came 
on  dark  and  rainy.  After  three  days  they  halt- 
ed, to  wash  and  mend  their  clothes ;  and  the  hunt- 
ers went  out  in  search  of  something  for  food. 
One  of  them  met  three  Tushepaw  Indians,  who 
were  at  first  going  to  kill  him,  but  at  length  he  paci- 
fied them,  and  they  went  back  with  him  to  the  camp. 
They  said  they  were  in  pursuit  of  Indians  who  had 
stolen  their  horses,  but  Capt.  Lewis  persuaded  one  of 
them  to  go  with  him  for  a  guide. 

The  next  morning,  as  the  travellers  were  about  to 
proceed  on  their  journey,  some  of  their  horses  strayed 
away,  and  they  were  obliged  to  stop  to  catch  them. 
The  new  Indian  guide  became  tired  of  waiting,  and 
went  off.  So  the  travellers  were  obliged  to  proceed 
without  him.  They  had  now  to  go  up  and  down 
mountains  steeper  and  more  difficult  than  they  had 
crossed  before.  The  horses  were  constantly  slipping 
and  falling  down,  and  were  so  tired  that  they  could 
hardly  stand. 

On  the  sixteenth,  the  snow  fell  and  covered  up 
the  Indian  path  which  they  had  been  following.  But 
they  saw  where  the  Indian  horses  had  rubbed  against 
the  trees,  and  were  thus  able  to  direct  their  course. 

As  the  travellers  toiled  along  in  their  difficult  march, 
the  snow  fell  upon  them  from  the  trees,  and  wet  tbem 
to  the  skin.  Beside  this,  they  were  very  cold  and  iuin- 
gvy.  They  could  find  no  deer,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  kill  three  horses  for  food. 

The  situation  of  the  travellers  at  this  period  of  their 
journey  was  peculiarly  trying.  At  an  immense  dis- 
tance from  civilized  men,  surrounded  by  desolate 


,      -0  ■■ 


■  ■:.  ) 


66 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


m! 


^B! 


y 


mountains,  pinched  with  cold,  worn  down  with  fa- 
tigue, and  starving  for  want  of  food,  it  required  great 
energy  to  keep  the  party  from  despair.  But  the  two 
Captains  were  stout-hearted  men,  and  they  cheered 
their  companions  with  the  prospect  of  soon  meeting 
with  better  fortune. 

Captain  Clark  now  went  forward  with  some  men, 
and  killed  a  wild  horse,  which  they  devoured.  He 
continued  to  proceed,  but  the  men  began  to  be  sick 
and  weak.  On  the  20th  he  came  to  an  Indian  village. 
There  were  but  few  men  at  home,  for  most  of  the 
tribe  had  gone  to  war.  But  here  they  got  something 
to  eat,  and  soon  after  they  came  to  another  village. 
This  belonged  to  the  Chopunnish  Indians.  At  this 
place,  they  were  joined  by  Captain  Lewis.  The 
travellers  were  kindly  treated  by  these  Indians. 
Their  chief  was  named  Twisted  Hair,  But  the  poor 
savages  had  little  to  eat  themselves,  and  the  party 
was  obliged  to  subsist  upon  anything  they  could  get. 
The  men  even  ate  crows.  By  and  by  they  came  to  a 
village  where  the  squaws  and  children  were  afraid  of 
them,  and  ran  away  to  hide  in  the  woods,  but  the  men 
remained,  and  sold  them  provisions.  They  gave  the 
Indians  some  tobacco,  medals,  and  many  other  things 
in  payment. 

They  got  from  these  Indians  some  berries  and  dried 
salmon;  and  as  their  clothes  were  worn  out,  they 
bought  skins  and  made  dresses  like  those  of  the  In- 
dians. The  men  had  been  starving  a  long  while,  and 
now  having  plenty  of  food,  they  ate  so  much  that  sev- 
eral made  themselves  sick.  At  this  place  they  found 
a  river  deep  enough  for  canoes,  and  they  began  to 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


67 


look  about  for  some  trees  large  enough  to  make  them 
of.  The  Indians  had  canoes,  and  were  very  expert 
in  managing  them.  But  the  Captains  had  to  go  five 
miles  down  the  river  before  they  found  any  trees  large 
enough. 


m, 


CHAPTER  XVn. 


m 


How  the  Travellers  made  Canoes. — How  they  went  over  the 
RapidSf  and  saw  a  crazy  Squaw. — How  they  ate  Dogs, 
— About  the  Chopvnnish  Indians j  and  Prickly  Pears, 

The  travellers  now  set  about  making  their  canoes, 
but  they  were  sick,  weak,  and  almost  starving.  They 
were  however,  as  I  have  told  you,  brave,  hardy  men, 
and  kept  up  good  spirits.  They  worked  as  well  as 
they  could ;  and  having  set  out  to  go  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  they  were  resolved  to  au\.omplish  it,  in  spite 
of  cold  and  hunger,  wild  beasts  and  Indians.  They 
were  ten  days  occupied  in  making  their  canoes,  and 
all  the  while  had  nothing  but  roots  to  eat. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  the  canoes  were  ready,  and 
they  entered  them,  and  went  down  the  river.  One 
of  the  canoes  struck  a  rock,  and  began  to  leak;  but 
they  went  on,  notwithstanding.  The  first  day  they 
went  nineteen  miles.  The  next  day  they  passed  fifteen 
rapids,  and  one  of  the  canoes  struck  against  a  rock, 
and  sunk.  The  men  came  near  being  drowned. 
They  did  not  lose  any  thing,  however,  but  their 
goods  were  all  wet,  and  they  had  to  stop  and  dry  them, 


Hv 


n 


■  ■<  I 


68 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


and  mend  their  canoes.  When  this  was  done,  they 
went  on. 

At  this  point  of  their  journey  their  Shoshonee 
guides  left  them  to  return  home,  without  saying  a 
word  about  it,  or  asking  for  their  pay.  One  day,  a 
crazy  squaw  came  to  the  travellers,  and  offered  to 
give  them  some  things.  When  they  refused  to  take 
them,  she  cut  herself  with  a  knife. 

They  went  along,  and  passed  a  good  many  rapids, 
and  saw  many  Chopunnish  Indians.  They  began  to 
buy  dogs  for  food  of  these  people,  and  they  soon  got 
used  to  them.  These  Indians  never  eat  dogs  them- 
selves, and  laughed  at  the  white  men  for  doing  it : 
but  they  had  nothing  else.  The  mountains  were  now 
almost  past,  and  the  party  found  that  the  river  grew 
larger  as  they  proceeded.  Several  more  streams  fell 
into  it.  All  these  rivers  contribute  to  form  the  great 
Columbia  River,  which  you  will  see  on  the  map. 

I  will  now  tell  you  something  more  about  the 
Chopunnish  Indians,  They  are  stout  good  looking 
men.  They  are  dark  skinned ;  but  the  women  are 
handsomer  than  other  Indian  women  in  these  reg-ions. 
The  men  wear  moccassins,  leggins,  robes  and  shirts 
of  leather,  like  some  other  Indians.  They  wear  their 
hair  ia  queues,  with  feathers  stuck  in  them.  They 
paint  themselves  white,  and  green,  and  blue. 

The  women  wear  a  long  loose  leathern  gown  from 
their  necks  to  their  ankles.  It  is  made  of  the  skin 
of  the  mountain  sheep.  They  sew  shells,  beads,  and 
pieces  of  brass  and  copper  to  their  gowns,  but  do  not 
wear  any  in  their  hair.  These  Indians  are  very  poor. 
In  the  summer  they  catch  salmon,  and  dig  roots, 


WEST  or  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


110 


which  they  lay  up  for  winter.  But  they  are  often 
starving.  They  are  indeed  very  miserable.  They 
live  in  a  wretched  country,  where  there  are  few  deer 
and  other  animals  for  subsistence.  When  they  go 
across  the  mountains  to  the  Missouri,  to  live  better, 
the  Indians  there  drive  them  back  again,  and  take 
away  their  horses,  and  kill  a  great  many  of  the  people. 
Our  travellers  now  found  prairies  with  short  grass, 
and  prickly  pears  on  them.  These  prickly  pears  are 
bad  things  to  walk  on.  They  are  full  of  prickles,  as 
sharp  as  needles.  The  poor  Chopunnish  are  oblig- 
ed to  walk  among  them,  and  their  feet  are  very  much 
wounded  by  them.  I  believe  there  are  no  people  in 
the  world  worse  off  than  these  unfortunate  Indians. 


J'  ,< , 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

How  the  Party  toent  down  the  River ,  and  came  to  the  So- 
kulks. — About  the  Sokulks. — How  they  flatten  the  Heads 
of  female  Infants. — How  the  Pishquitpaws  were  fright- 
ened. 


->'    ! 


OuE  travellers  continued  to  prosecute  their  journey 
towards  the  ocean.  They  passed  more  rapids  and 
rocks,  and  dangerous  places;  and  they  saw  more 
Indians  and  bought  roots  of  them.  By  and  by  they 
killed  a  few  geese  and  ducks,  and  fared  better  than 
before.  They  saw  stages  on  the  banks  of^the  river 
that  the  Indians  had  put  up  to  dry  fish  upon ;  another 
canoe  was  sunk,  and  they  lost  some  of  their  articles. 


I-  i 


70 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


Then  they  came  to  more  rapids,  and  very  danger- 
ous ones.  On  the  16th  day  of  the  month  they  came 
to  a  camp  of  Sokulk  Indians.  Two  hundred  of  the 
Sokulks  came  to  meet  them,  singing  and  beating  on 
drums.  They  then  danced  round  the  white  men, 
and  the  Captains  gave  them  some  medals  and  trinkets. 
They  were  very  friendly,  and  gave  the  travellers 
twenty  pounds  of  horse  beef,  and  sold  them  seven 
dogs. 

The  next  day  the  Chiefs  came  and  smoked  with 
the  party,  and  the  women  came  and  sold  them  more 
dogs  for  beads.  The  Sokulks  resemble  the  Chopun- 
nish ;  the  women,  however,  are  short,  fat,  and  very 
ugly,  and  have  scarcely  any  clothes.  The  houses  of 
these  Indians  are  made  of  mats,  with  flat  roofs, 
and  a  hole  in  the  top  to  let  the  smoke  out.  Both 
men  and  women  braid  their  hair,  and  wear  beads 
and  shells,  and  pieces  of  brass  and  copper  and  horn 
and  feathers  and  fish  bones,  for  ornaments. 

But  the  strangest  thing  is  not  yet  told.  They  put 
the  heads  of  their  female  children  between  two  boards, 
and  tie  the  boards  together,  till  their  heads  grow  up 
into  a  peak,  and  their  foreheads  are  straight  from  the 
tips  of  their  noses  to  the  crowns  of  their  heads. 
This  they  think  renders  their  females  very  beautiful. 
The  men  have  each  but  one  wife.  These  Indians  pay 
great  respect  to  old  people.  They  are  all  fishermen 
as  well  as  hunters,  and  they  have  nets  and  lines  and 
spears.  . 

The  travellers  saw  among  them  a  blind  woman, 
more  than  a  hundred  years  old.  The  Indians  treated 
her  with  great  kindness.    A  good  many  of  the  So^ 


^ 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


71 


I 


kulk  Indians  were  blind,  and  all  of  them  had  sore 
eyes.  But  thoy  are  bettor  oil'  tlian  the  Chopunnish, 
for  they  have  plenty  of  food.  Many  of  them  had 
worn  out  their  teeth  completely,  and  they  had  all 
very  bad  teeth.  They  had  few  horses,  but  many  ca- 
noes. They  boil  their  victuals  by  putting  hot  stones 
into  the  water.  At  length  the  travellers  took  leave 
of  the  Sokulks,  and  went  on,  and  passed  more  rapids. 
They  came  to  another  Indian  village,  and  the  Indians 
were  very  kind  to  them.  After  this,  they  came  to  the 
Pishquitpaw  Indians.  Capt.  Clark  happened  to  shoot 
a  crane,  and  the  Indians  saw  it  fall  into  the  water. 
This  scared  them,  and  they  ran  away,  and  got  into 
their  houses,  and  began  to  cry  and  wring  their 
hands.  They  thought  they  were  going  to  be  killed. 
The  Captain  went  in  among  them,  and  shook  hands 
with  tliem,  and  pacified  them.  But  when  he  took 
out  his  burning  glass,  and  lit  his  pipe  with  it,  they 
were  frightened  again.  He  then  gave  them  some 
little  trinkets,  and  by  and  by  the  rest  of  his  party 
came  up.  The  Indians  said  they  knew  the  strangers 
were  not  men ;  for  they  had  seen  one  of  them  fall 
down  from  the  sky,  and  they  had  seen  Captain  Clark 
bring  down  fire  from  heaven  with  his  burning  glass. 
The  truth  was,  they  had  seen  the  crane  fall,  and 
thought  it  was  a  man.  They  had  never  seen  a  white 
man,  or  a  burning  glass,  or  a  gun  before.  They  had 
not  even  heard  of  such  things.  However,  they  were 
m-cide  to  understand  such  matters,  and  they  sold  the 
white  men  fish  and  berries.  After  a  while  the  trav- 
ellers left  these  Indians,  and  went  down  the  river. 
The  next  day  they  came  to  a  great  many  more  Pish- 
quitpaws,  who  were  on  an  island  drying  fish. 


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72 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

MoiU  the  Pishquitpaws, — An  Indian  Tomb. — Mout  the 
Columbia  River. — The  Falls  of  the  Columbia. — About 
the  EchelootSf  and  their  Houses  under  Ground. 

The  Pishquitpaw8  dress  in  very  short,  small  robas ; 
many,  however,  wear  no  robes  at  all.  The  squawer 
wear  fur  clothes,  and  have  their  heads  flattened  like 
the  Sokulks.  They  are  very  ill  shaped  and  !ugly. 
Neither  the  men  nor  women  have  many  ornaments, 
but  they  have  plenty  of  roots  and  fishes  to  eat.  The 
travellers  smoked  with  these  peofde,  bought  some 
more  dogs,  and  then  went  forward  again. 

The  next  day  the  party  came  to  a  house  where 
the  Indians  deposit  their  dead.  The  dead  bodies  were 
wrapped  up  in  robes,  laid  upon  boards,  and  covered 
with  mats.  In  the  middle  there  was  a  great  heap  of 
bones.  There  was  a  mat  there  with  more  than  twenty 
skullgr  on  it  Bowls  and  baskets  and  robea  and 
skins,  and  many  other  things,  were  hanging  up  all 
around  the  building.  On  the  outside  were  ^eletons 
ofhorses^ 

On  the  twent)rfirst,  they  came  to  eight  Indian 
cabins.  The  Indians  were  very  kind,  and  attentively 
examined  every  thing  which  the  travellers  showed 
them.  They  had  among  them  some  cloth  and  a  sail- 
or's jacket.  They  said  they  obtained  these  things: 
from  Indians*  further  down  the  river,  who  got  them 
from  white  men^  So  the  Captains  knew  that  the  sea 
could  not  be  very  far  off.    Along  the  banks  of  the 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


73 


river,  there  were  now  rugged  cliffs  and  high  hills. 
For  many  miles  there  were  large  rocks  and  danger- 
ous places  in  the  stream.  There  were  also  pine 
trees  and  rapids,  ana  islands,  and  crooked  channels 
in  the  water,  and  the  men  had  great  difficulty  to  get 
along ;  but  they  passed  through  them  all  in  safety.  At 
length  they  came  to  more  Indians,  and  landed  and 
passed  the  night  with  them. 

All  these  Indians  had  holes  through  the  lower  part 
of  their  noses,  in  which  they  wore  beads.  They  were 
very  poor,  and  not  so  hospitable  as  the  Indians  the 
travellers  had  lately  seen. 

There  was  a  very  lofty  mountain  visible  from 
this  place.  The  hills  around  were  steep  and  very 
rocky,  and  there  were  oak  trees  upon  them.  There 
were  also  a  great  many  fine,  clear  springs  among  the 
hills. 

The  party  now  came  to  the  falls  of  the  Columbia 
River.  These  are  dangerous  rapids,  but  the  highest 
fall  is  only  twenty  feet.  They  were  obliged  to  carry 
their  baggage  round  the  falls,  and  had  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  in  doing  this.  The  Indians  stole  some  arti- 
cles from  them.  Below  the  falls  they  saw  a  sea 
otter,  and  found  a  great  abundance  of  fleas. 

The  Indians  here  would  sell  the  travellers  no  fish ; 
but  they  sold  them  eight  little  fat  dogs,  which  they  ate. 
They  then  went  on,  and  came  to  a  place  where  the 
river  is  hemmed  in  by  rocks,  and  becomes  very  nar- 
row. Here  the  water  boils  up  in  great  waves  and 
whirlpools;  but  these  tliey  passed  through  safely. 
They  then  went  over  more  very  dangerous  rapids,  and 
at  length  came  to  another  village. 
7 


'   Si 

'I 


1" 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS, 


75 


The  houses  here  were  built  of  wood ;  the  Indians 
who  inhabited  them  were  Echeloots.  Their  mode 
of  building  is  this : — A  great  square  hole  is  dug  in  the 
ground ;  then  the  sides  of  this  hole  are  lined  with 
wood,  and  a  roof  is  put  over  it.  A  place  is  left  in  the 
roof,  for  the  smoke  to  get  out.  There  are  holes  also  to 
shoot  arrows  through.  These  houses  you  perceive 
are  almost  under  ground. 

The  Echeloots  received  the  travellers  kindly,  and 
invited  them  to  their  houses.  They  smoked  togeth- 
er, and  the  Captains  gave  the  chiefs  medals.  One 
of txC  white  men  played  on  the  fiddle,  and  the  rest 
danced.  The  Indians  thought  it  was  all  very  fine.  In 
a  short  time  the  travellers  went  on  their  way. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Mout  the  ChilluckitteqttawSf  and  other  Indians  the  Travel- 
lers saw. — About  the  Shilloots  and  Wahkiacums. — How 
the  Party  came  to  the  Sea. 

The  travellers  now  began  to  see  a  good  many  seals 
and  sea-otters  in  the  water,  and  along  the  shore.  One 
day  they  killed  five  deer  and  some  squirrels.  They 
also  saw  some  white  cranes ;  and  the  fleas  became  so 
numerous,  and  so  infested  their  clothes,  that  they  had 
to  throw  them  off. 

On  the  twentyeighth  of  tlie  month,  sorae  Indians 
came  to  visit  the  travellers.  These  were  Chilluck- 
ittequaws.     One  of  them  liad  his  hair  tied  up  in 


T 


76 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


\ 


a  queue,  such  as  sailors  wear,  and  had  on  a  sailor's  hat 
and  jacket.  He  said  he  got  these  articles  from  some 
Indians  below,  and  they  got  them  from  white  people. 
Our  travellers  soon  proceeded,  and  eight  miles  farther 
down,  they  came  to  a  village  of  Chilluckittequaws, 
under  some  high  rocks. 

Their  houses  were  like  tliose  of  the  Echeloots. 
The  Captains  went  in,  and  found  a  gun,  a  sword,  and 
some  tea-kettles.  These  people  sold  the  white  men 
some  dogs,  ond  bread  made  of  roots.  They  had  fine 
canoes,  and  went  fearlessly  along  the  water  in  them, 
though  the  wind  was  strong,  and  the  waves  ran  very 
high.  These  canoes  were  made  of  cedar  and  pine, 
and  the  bow  and  stern  were  ornamented  with  carv- 
ed images. 

The  next  day  the  travellers  went  ashore  at  another 
village  of  Chilluckittequaws.  The  chief  showed  them 
his  bow  and  arrows,  and  took  out  of  a  bag  fourteen 
fore-fingers.  He  said  they  belonged  to  the  men 
he  had  killed  in  war.  He  had  cut  them  off,  and  car- 
ried them  away,  as  the  other  tribes  do  scalps,  to  prove 
that  he  had  killed  so  many  men.  There  was  a  bag 
hanging  up  in  his  house,  which  was  considered  a  ho- 
ly thing.  No  one  dared  to  touch  it,  but  the  owner. 
These  Indians  are  small  and  ugly,  and  wear  hats 
made  of  straw.  They  are  extremely  fond  of  small 
blue  beads,  and  will  give  almost  anything  they 
have  for  them.  They  go  nearly  naked.  They  have 
5ore  eyes,  and  bad  teeth.  They  proceed  down  the 
river  to  the  sea,  and  sell  the  Indians  their  fish  and 
roots ;  and  get  in  exchange  beads,  tea-kettles,  and  cloth. 
All  the  women  have  their  heads  flattened.    . 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


77 


The  travellers  continued  their  voyage,  and  passed 
a  great  many  more  rapids.  At  last  they  came  to  tide 
water ;  that  is,  the  water  that  sets  up  from  the  ocean. 
Here  the  river  w  as  a  mile  wide,  and  trees  were  grow- 
ing all  around. 

They  met  Indians  everywhere.  One  of  them  had 
a  gun,  and  knew  well  how  to  use  it.  They  then  came 
to  another  village.  There  were  twentyfive  houses 
in  it,  all  built  of  bark,  but  one,  and  that  was  made  of 
boards.    These  people  were  called  Skilloots. 

These  people  had  guns,  powder,  and  lead.  They 
were  very  disagreeable,  and  proved  to  be  great  thieves. 
It  appears  that  they  got  their  guns  from  ships  on  tlie 
coast  The  travellers  left  them  as  soon  as  they  could ; 
but  they  found  more  of  them  along  the  river,  and 
were  much  troubled  with  them.  They  visited  tlie 
party  at  all  hours  of  the  night,  and  annoyed  them  ex- 
ceedingly. They  resembled  the  other  Indians  in  this 
quarter ;  but  both  men  and  women  had  their  heads 
flattened. 

At  length  the  travellers  arrived  among  the  Wali- 
kiacum  Indians,  who  are  small,  and  very  ugly.  Their 
houses  were  above  ground.  The  women  were  dress- 
ed in  petticoats  made  of  bark. 

They  passed  another  village,  and  finally  came  in 
sight  of  what  they  had  been  longing  to  see — the 
Great  Pacific  Ocean.  They  saw  the  surf  beating 
on  the  rocks,  and  heard  its  welcome  roar. 

This  happened  on  November  7,  1805.    The  joy 

of  the  travellers  can  hardly  be  described.    Though 

it  rained  hard,  and  they  were  obliged  to  pass  the  night 

without  shelter,  still  they  were  in  excellent  spirits,  on 

7^t 


p 


78 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


account  of  their  success  thus  far  in  their  perilous 
enterprise. 


(ii 


CHAPTER  XXL 

4 

« 

MotU  the  Catlahmas,  and  Chinnooks^  and  ChiltZf  and 
Clatsops. — How  the  White  Men  huilt  Houses. — About 
the  Indian  CanA)es. — Mout  a  Whale. — About  the  Chin- 
nooks.    ^ 

Though  our  travellers  had  reached  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  they  had  not  yet  triumphed  over  all  the  ditfi- 
culties  of  their  situation. 

They  were  much  troubled  to  find  a  place  where  they 
might  encamp,  for  the  rocks  along  the  shore  were 
very  high,  and  the  waves  broke  over  the  beach  below. 
But  at  last  they  found  a  place  where  they  remained 
some  time.  Here  they  saw  another  tribe  of  Indians, 
called  Catlahmas. 

These  people  proved  to  be  great  thieves,  and  our 
friends  were  glad,  at  last,  to  get  rid  of  them.  As 
soon  as  the  weather  would  permit,  the  travellers  went 
along  the  coast,  and  saw  several  tribes  of  Indians. 
They  were  CE''3d  Chinnooks,  Chiltz,  and  Clatsops. 
All  these  Indians  are  fond  of  blue  beads,  which  pass 
for  money. 

Capt.  Lewis  now  went  forward  along  the  coast,  with 
some  of  the  men,  to  find  a  place  where  they  could 
pass  the  winter.  He  had  stormy  weather,  rain,  and  a 
bad  road ;  but  at  last  he  found  a  good  situation,  and  re- 
turned to  tell  the  people  of  it.    The  whole  party  went 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


79 


to  this  place ;  and  on  the  tenth  of  December  they  cut 
down  trees,  and  began  to  build  houses.  The  spot  they 
had  selected  was  near  a  very  lofty  mountain. 

The  Indians  about  here  are  very  expert  in  managing 
canoes,  and  go  to  sea  when  the  waves  are  high.  They 
have  bows  and  arrows,  and  kill  some  deer  and  elks ; 
but  they  live  mostly  on  the  fishes  that  the  waves  throw 
on  the  shore. 

The  weather  continued  to  be  very  rainy,  but  the 
men  persevered  in  theii  labor  for  all  that.  The  hunt- 
ers killed  plenty  of  elks,  and  they  had  abundance  of 
food. 

At  last  they  finished  their  houses,  and  became  com- 
fortably settled  in  them.  It  kept  on  raining  contin- 
ually. But  the  Indians  came  frequently  to  see  them, 
and  brought  roots  and  other  things  to  sell. 

The  travellers  now  passed  their  time  in  security  and 
plenty.  They  killed  swans,  and  cranes,  and  ducks, 
and  geese,  and  cormorants,  and  elks :  so  they  were  in 
no  danger  of  starving.  They  also  boiled  some  sea- 
water,  and  made  salt  for  their  use. 

One  day,  a  whale  was  cast  on  shore  by  the  waves, 
not  many  miles  from  their  house.  Several  of  the  men 
set  out  to  go  and  get  some  of  the  flesh.  Mrs  Cha- 
boneau  went  with  them.  She  was  very  anxious  to 
flee  so  large  a  fish.  The  party  were  obliged,  in  order 
to  reach  the  place,  to  cross  a  very  high  mountain. 
This  was  steep  and  dangerous.  The  top  was  above 
the  clouds,  and  some  of  the  party  came  near  being 
killed  several  times,  by  falling  over  the  precipices. 
However,  they  passed  safely  over  the  mountain. 

Now  it  happened  that  near  the  place  where  the 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


81 


whale  was  thrown  ashore,  there  wore  two  villages  of 
Indians,  called  Killamucks.  When  the  party  arrived, 
they  had  already  carried  off  all  the  flesh  of  the  whale, 
and  left  only  its  bones.  So  the  white  men  were 
very  poorly  rewarded  for  their  journey. 


CHAPTER  XXn. 


Description  of  the  Indians  near  the  Mouth  of  Columbia 
River. — How  the  Travellers  returned  up  that  lliverj 
and  other  Matters. 

I  MUST  now  tell  you  more  particularly  about  the 
various  tribes  of  Indians  that  our  travellers  found  to 
inhabit  the  country  around  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia River.  The  Chinnooks  I  have  already  mentioned. 
They  are  small,  ugly  people.  They  have  large  feet, 
and  small,  crooked  legs.  Both  men  and  women  have 
their  heads  made  very  flat.  They  dress  in  robes  and 
blankets.  The  women  wear  strings  tied  tight  round 
their  ankles,  and  have  bark  petticoats,  like  the  Wah- 
kiacums.  The  men  have  guns,  but  are  very  cowardly. 
They  are  all  thieves,  both  men  and  women. 

Beside  the  Indians  I  have  told  you  about,  there  are 
nineteen  more  tribes  round  the  mouth  of  Columbia 
River.  They  are  nearly  alike,  and  live  for  the  most 
part  by  fishing.  They  are  all  poor,  and  have  very  lit- 
tle clothinjr. 

They  have  a  few  guns,  but  still  use  bows 
and  arrows.  They  catch  bears,  deer  and  elks,  in 
snares  and  pits.    Their  bows   are  made   of  wood. 


i 


82 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


and  strung  with  sinews;   their  nrrows  arc   pointed 
with  stone  or  copper. 

They  catch  foxes  and  small  animals  in  wooden 
traps. 

They  generally  live  in  largo  wooden  buildings; 
thirty  or  forty  people  are  crowded  together  in  one  of 
them.  They  have  only  a  small  hole  through  which 
'  they  go  in  and  out.  The  fire  is  made  in  the  middle. 
Here  they  live,  eat,  smoke,  sleep,  and  make  wooden 
bowls  and  spoons,  and  baskets.  They  boil  their  vic- 
tuals in  kettles  by  placing  hot  stones  in  the  water. 

Their  canoes  are  of  different  shapes;  some  of  them 
are  very  large,  and  will  carry  thirty  men.  These  are 
cut  out  of  one  large  tree,  and  chiselled  quite  thin. 
At  the  ends,  they  have  carved  images  of  men  and 
beasts. 

They  use  paddles  instead  of  oars,  and  they  venture 
out  to  sea  in  very  rough  weather.  In  making  these 
canoes,  they  have  no  other  tools  than  chisels  made  of 
small  files ;  with  these  they  cut  down  trees,  and  hollow 
them  out  They  hold  the  chisel  in  one  hand,  and 
strike  the  end  of  it  with  a  stone.  They  value  their 
canoes  very  highly. 

In  the  month  of  March,  our  travellers  began  to 
thinly  of  returning  to  their  country.  They  wrote 
some  letters,  and  gave  them  to  the  Indians,  and  told 
them  to  give  them  to  the  first  white  men  that  might 
come  there  in  a  vessel.  They  thought  they  might  be 
killed  by  the  Indians  in  returning  across  the  moun- 
tains ;  and  they  wished  their  countrymen  to  know,  that 
they  had  reached  the  mouth  of  Columbia  River. 
One  of  these  letters  actually  came  into  the  hands  of 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


83 


the  master    of  the  brig  Lydin,  and  afterwards  wa« 
sent  to  Philadelphia. 

On  the  twontythird  of  March,  they  started  to  re- 
turn up  the  Columbia.  They  passed  the  Catlahmalis, 
and  the  Wahkiacrms,  and  the  Chinnooks,  and  the 
Skilloots.  I  have  told  you  about  these  Indians  before ; 
so  there  is  no  need  of  saying  more  of  them  now. 
Going  up,  they  fared  very  much  as  they  had  done  in 
coming  down;  sometimes  hunting,  and  sometimes 
living  on  roots  which  they  bought  of  the  Indians. 


p 


m 


"/•  : 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Travellers  proceed. — How  they  left  their  Canoes,  and 
went  over  the  Mountains, — How  the  Willetpos  ran 
Races. — How  the  Party  separated. 


5* ' 


Proceeding  up  the  river,  they  saw  many  tribes  of 
Indians,  which  they  had  not  seen  before.  With  some 
of  these  they  had  a  good  deal  of  difficulty.  At  length 
they  left  their  canoes,  and  travelled  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  upon  their  horses.  On  the  4th  of  May,  hav- 
ing met  with  no  remarkable  adventures,  they  arrived 
at  the  Chopunnish  village,  where  they  had  been  be- 
fore, on  their  journey  down  the  river.  Here  they 
were  short  of  food,  and  being  pinched  by  hunger,  they 
killed  one  of  their  horses,  and  ate  the  flesh. 

In  a  few  days  they  travelled  on  again.    The  tops 
of  the  mountains  were  now  covered  with  snow.    I 


84 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


1 


JF 


1 


need  not  tell  you  all  that  happened  to  our  travellers 
in  the  Indian  villages,  nor  how  they  hunted,  nor  how 
they  suffered.  You  have  heard  about  such  matters 
before,  and  there  is  no  need  to  repeat  them  here. 

While  the  travellers  were  at  this  place,  they  were 
visited  by  the  Willetpos,  a  tribe  they  had  not  seen 
before.  These  Indians  are  very  swift  of  foot,  and 
they  ran  races  with  the  white  men.  After  this  the 
soldiers  danced,  and  played  ball  to  amuse  them.  Then 
the  men  went  to  a  place  called  Collin's  Creek,  to  hunt ; 
but  it  was  rainy,  and  they  did  not  kill  many  animals  : 
besides  this,  the  musquitoes  were  very  thick,  and  trou- 
bled them  a  great  deal. 

They  now  hired  two  Indians  to  show  them  the  way 
back  over  the  mountains,  and  promised  to  give  them 
two  guns  for  their  trouble.  On  the  26th  of  the  month 
they  all  started.  The  snow  had  melted  away  a  great 
deal,  but  still  it  was  more  than  seven  feet  deep.  It 
was  hard,  however,  and  the  horses  did  not  sink  into 
it.  They  were  now  on  the  mountains,  and  everything 
was  covered  with  snow ;  but  the  two  Indian  guides 
found  their  way  easily. 

On  the  second  day,  their  meat  was  all  gone,  but 
they  scraped  away  the  snow  and  dug  up  roots,  which 
they  cooked  in  bear's  oil.  So  far  the  horses  had  had 
nothing  to  eat ;  but  the  next  day  they  came  to  a  place 
where  the  snow  had  melted  away  on  the  south  side 
of  a  hill,  where  there  was  some  grass.  Then  they 
came  to  some  springs  of  water,  almost  boiling  hot. 
All  this  time  they  were  near  starving  for  want  of  food, 
and  they  slept  at  night  on  the  snow.  This  was  a  hard 
life,  and  our  poor  travellers  suffered  exceedingly. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


8^^ 


At  len^h  they  reached  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  Capt.  Lewis  paid  the  Indian  guides. 
They  had  been  very  useful,  and  without  them  the 
white  men  could  not  have  found  the  way  over  the  deep 
snow.  The  party  then  separated ;  Capt.  Lewis  with 
nine  of  the  men  went  one  way,  intending  to  visit  Ma- 
ria River,  and  Capt.  Clark  went  another  with  the 
rest.  They  agreed  to  meet  again  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  River. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Mout  Capt.  Lewis  an^  his  Men. — Hoio  a  Bear  drove  a 
Man  up  a  Tree. — How  they  saw  some  Blackfoot  In- 
dians on  Maria  River. — How  the  Indians  behaved. — 
How  the  White  Men  fought  with  the  Blackfeet. 

The  party  with  Capt.  Lewis  travelled  on  toward  the 
Missouri,  and  in  nine  days  they  saw  buffaloes  again. 
On  the  13th  of  the  month,  they  came  to  the  place 
where  they  had  buried  their  goods,  and  sunk  their 
canoes  the  year  before.  They  found  all  as  they  had 
loft  it,  but  the  water  had  spoiled  some  of  the  things. 
Now  they  killed  buffaloes,  and  had  plenty  to  eat. 
They  also  saw  some  grisly  bears.  One  of  the  men, 
named  Macneil,  was  near  being  killed  by  one  of  these 
animals. 

He  was  passing  a  little  thicket  of  trees  where  there 
was  a  bear.  He  was  on  horseback,  and  did  not  see 
the  bear  till  it  had  sprung  out  of  the  bushes,  and  was 

8 


y:\ 


vi 

v 


r 


n 


H 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


d7 


close  to  him.  The  horse  was  frightened,  and  threw 
Macneil  upon  the  ground  close  to  the  bear.  The  an- 
imal reared  up  to  lay  hold  of  him,  and  opened  his 
mouth;  but  Macneil  struck  the  creature  so  hard  with 
liis  gun,  that  he  broke  it,  and  stunned  the  bear  with 
the  blow.  Before  the  bear  recovered,  Macneil  climbed 
up  a  tree,  but  the  creature  remained  below,  and 
watched  him  some  time :  at  length  he  went  away, 
and  Macneil  came  down,  found  his  horse,  mounted 
him,  and  rode  back  to  his  companions. 

On  the  17th,  the  travellers  came  to  the  track  of  a 
wounded  buffalo.  This  gave  them  great  anxiety; 
for  they  now  knew  that  Indians  r*ere  near,  who  might 
attack  them ;  but  they  did  not  see  anything  of  them 
for  several  days.  They  now,  for  a  time,  saw  no  more 
buffaloes,  and  were  obliged  to  eat  roots  again. 

On  the  26th,  they  left  their  horses  grazing,  and 
Capt.  Lewis  and  his  men  went  two  miles  to  look  at 
the  country  on  Maria  River.  Drewyer  went  along  the 
river  on  one  side,  and  the  Captain  and  the  rest  of  the 
men  on  the  other.  Suddenly  Capt.  Lewis  saw  several 
horses  at  a  distance.  He  took  out  his  spy-glass,  and 
perceived  that  they  were  saddled,  and  on  a  hill  close 
by  them  were  some  Indians  looking  at  Drewyer,  who 
did  not  observe  the  Indians,  but  kept  on  toward  them. 
The  Captain  would  not  leave  him  to  be  killed,  but 
went  forward  to  meet  the  Indians.  He  held  up  a 
flag,  to  show  them  that  he  was  friendly. 

These  Indians  were  part  of  the  Blackfoot  tribe,  a 
people  who  make  war  on  all  the  world,  and  kill  and 
plunder  whenever  they  can.  When  Capt.  Lewis 
came  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  tliem,  one  rode  at 


•^ 


^m 


c ; 


..I 
"'I 


51 


(-■■ 

i'" 


''I 

i 


w 


n 
H 


» 


O 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


89 


full  speed  to  meet  him.  When  the  Indian  was  pretty 
close,  Capt.  Lewis  got  off  his  horse  and  held  out  his 
hand  to  him.  But  the  Indian  only  stared  at  him,  and 
then  turned  and  rode  back  as  fast  as  he  came. 

As  soon  as  the  first  Blackfoot  got  back  to  his  com- 
panions, they  all  came  forward  to  meet  Capt.  Lewis 
and  his  men.  The  Captain  expected  that  they  would 
try  to  rob  him,  and  therefore  told  his  soldiers  to  be 
ready  to  fight  it  out.  When  they  came  within  one 
hundred  yards  of  him,  they  all  stopped  but  one:  that 
one  came  forward  alone,  and  the  Captain  first  shook 
hands  with  him,  and  afterward  with  all  the  rest.  They 
were  painted  frightfully,  according  to  their  custom 
when  they  go  to  war. 

After  this,  the  Indians  wished  to  smoke.  Capt, 
Lewis  told  them  that  Drewyer  had  the  pipe  with  him, 
and  requested  one  of  them  to  go  with  a  soldier  to  call 
him  back.  One  of  the  Indians  went  quite  willingly. 
The  captain  thought  it  was  best  to  please  these  In- 
dians ;  so  he  gave  one  a  flag,  another  a  medal,  and 
another  a  handkerchief,  with  which  they  were  very 
much  delighted.  The  travellers  got  over  their  first 
fear  when  they  saw  that  there  were  only  eight  of  the 
Indians,  and  that  they  had  only  two  guns  among  them. 

It  was  now  growing  late,  and  Capt.  Lewis  asked 
them  to  go  to  the  river  and  encamp  with  him,  and 
they  consented.  The  whites  made  fires,  and  spent  the 
evening  talking  with  the  Blackfeet.  These  Indians 
said  there  were  many  more  of  their  people  not  a  great 
way  off.  They  had  been  at  war  with  the  Tushepaws, 
and  some  of  their  tribe  had  been  killed.    At  last  the 

8* 


i  J.  *  ' 


90 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


white  men  went  to  slec   , — all  but  one,  named  Fields, 
who  sat  up  to  watch  the  Indians. 

Fields  very  carelessly  left  his  gun  lying  on  the 
ground.  While  he  was  looking  another  way,  one  of 
the  Blackfeet  stole  it.  At  the  same  time  two  more  of 
them  took  up  Capt.  Lewis'  and  Drewyer's  guns,  and 
all  three  ran  away.  Fields,  as  soon  as  he  saw  what 
was  going  on,  ran  after  them,  and  caught  one  of  the 
Indians.  The  savage  would  not  let  the  gun  go ;  so 
Fields  stabbed  him  to  the  heart  with  his  knife,  and 
he  fell  down  dead. 

Capt.  Lewis  and  Drewyer  jumped  up,  and  Drewyer 
got  his  gun  back  directly.  The  Captain  came  near  the 
Indian  that  had  his  gun,  and  pulled  out  his  pistol  to 
shoot  him,  but  the  Blackfoot  laid  it  down,  and 
thus  saved  his  life.  As  the  savages  could  not  get  the 
guns,  they  attempted  to  drive  away  our  travellers' 
horses ;  but  the  white  men  followed  them  so  closely, 
that  they  fled,  and  left  behind  thirteen  of  their  own 
horses. 

They  also  left  in  the  camp  four  leathern  shields, 
two  bows,  and  two  quivers  full  of  arrows,  besides  a 
good  deal  of  meat.  But  the  white  people  did  not 
take  away  the  meat ;  and  they  left  a  medal  on  the 
neck  of  the  dead  Indian,  that  his  people  might  know 
who  had  killed  him.  This  happened  on  a  branch  of 
the  Missouri  called  Maria's  River.  The  party  thought 
that  the  Indians  would  come  back  and  bring  more 
with  them ;  so  they  mounted  their  horses,  and  rode 
away  as  fast  as  they  could.  They  found  the  horses 
they  had  taken  from  the  Blackfeet,  excellent  ones. 
They  travelled  more  tlian  sixty  miles  before  they 
stopped. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


91 


J  1.1 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


TJie  Travellers  proceed  on  their  Journey. — Cayt.  Lewis 
is  shot  by  one  of  his  own  Men. — He  joins  Capt.  Clark. 
—  Capt.  Clark's  Adventures. 

The  next  morning  the  party  were  so  tired  and  sore, 
that  they  could  hardly  stand ;  but  they  had  to  fly  for  their 
lives,  and  therefore  kept  on.  About  the  middle  of  the 
day  they  heard  guns  ahead,  and  when  they  arrived  at 
the  Missouri  they  found  some  of  Captain  Clark's  party 
coming  down  the  stream  in  canoes.  The  next  Jay 
they  turned  their  horses  loose,  and  Capt.  Lewis  and 
his  men  entered  the  canoes. 

As  they  went  along,  they  found  a  great  abundance 
of  game,  buffaloes,  elks,  and  mountain  sheep,  some- 
times called  Big  Horns.  They  also  killed  another 
grisly  bean  They  noAv  went  rapidly  down  the  stream 
for  several  days.  The  current  carried  them  seven 
miles  an  hour. 

On  the  seventh  of  August  they  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellow  Stone  River.  There  they  found  a  let- 
ter from  Capt.  Clark,  stuck  up  on  a  pole.  You  will 
remember  that  the  two  parties  were  to  have  united  at 
the  mouth  of  this  river.  But  Capt.  Clark  wrote  that 
they  would  find  him  further  down  the  Missouri :  so 
they  kept  on. 

Two  days  after,  they  saw  a  herd  of  elks  among  some 
willows,  and  Capt.  Lewis  and  a  man  named  Cruzatte 
went  ashore.  They  shot  an  elk  each,  but  Cruzatte 
seeing  the  Captain  moving  in  the  bushes,  took  him 


t 


;} 


.if,' ; 

I 


?^il 


I! 

4 


9"^ 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


for  an  elk,  and  shot  him  in  the  hip.  At  first  the  Cap- 
tain thought  it  was  done  by  Indians ;  but  he  got  to 
the  boat,  wounded  as  he  was. 

He  sent  the  rest  of  the  men  to  help  Cruzatte,  think- 
ing he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  The 
poor  soldier  wap  greatly  distressed  when  he  found  he 
had  shot  his  Captain :  but  as  he  was  a  good  man,  and 
had  not  done  it  on  purpose,  the  Captain  forgave  him. 

They  dressed  Capt.  Lewis*  wound  as  well  as  they 
could.  It  bled  a  great  deal ;  but  as  the  bullet  had  not 
broken  the  bone,  nor  cut  an  artery,  it  was  not  danger- 
ous. But  it  was  very  painful,  and  he  had  soon  a  high 
fever.  They  could  not  move  him  without  giving  him 
great  pain ;  so  he  was  obliged  to  sleep  all  night  on 
board  the  canoe. 

The  next  day  they  went  on,  and  came  to  a  little 
camp  of  white  men.  They  landed,  and  found  there 
two  fur  traders,  named  Dickson  and  Hancock.  They 
were  going  to  pass  the  winter  with  the  Indians.  They 
said  they  had  seen  Capt.  Clark  and  his  men,  the  day 
before.  The  Captain  made  the  traders  some  presents, 
and  then  went  on. 

On  the  same  day,  they  came  to  the  place  where 
Capt.  Clark  and  his  soldiers  were  encamped,  and  now 
the  two  captains  and  all  the  men  were  again  united  in 
one  company.  You  must  not  think  that  these  camps 
that  I  talk  so  much  about,  are  like  those  you  see  on 
Boston  Common  on  Election-day  and  the  Fourth  of 
July.  They  are  really  nothing  but  stopping  places. 
In  most  cases  there  are  no  tents,  and  no  shelter.  The 
men  sleep  in  the  open  air  upon  the  ground,  covered 
with  blankets,  or  skins.  This  is  the  way  travellers 
Jive  in  the  Indian  country. 


lb 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


93 


You  will  remember  that  we  left  Capt.  Clark  at  the 
foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  fifteen  men  and  a 
great  many  horses ;  I  believe  there  were  fifty.  I  will 
now  tell  you  about  his  adventures  before  Capt.  Lewis 
joined  him  below  the  moutli  of  the  Yellow  Stone 
River,  as  I  have  just  related. 

The  first  day  after  they  separated  from  Capt.  Lewis, 
Capt.  Clark  and  his  party  crossed  five  streams,  all  of 
them  deep  and  rapid.  Some  of  their  things  got  wet 
and  were  spoiled.  It  being  the  Fourth  of  July,  they 
stopped  early  to  celebrate  the  day.  Their  feast  was 
not  so  good  as  they  might  have  wished  for  on  such  an 
occasion.  It  consisted  only  of  a  mush,  made  of  roots, 
and  a  saddle  of  venison.  Toward  night  they  killed 
four  deer.  Two  days  after  they  lost  the  road,  and 
came  to  a  wide  plain.  Mrs  Chaboneau,  who  still  con- 
tinued with  them,  remembered  the  place,  though 
she  had  not  seen  it  since  she  was  a  little  girl.  She 
told  them  which  way  to  ^o,  and  described  the  objects 
they  would  see  as  they  proceeded.  They  were  not 
a  little  surprised  to  find  it  all  turn  out  as  she  had  said. 
In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  storm.  The  wind  blew 
so  violently,  that  the  travellers  had  to  take  hold  of  each 
other,  to  stand. 

On  the  eighth  of  the  month,  they  arrived  at  Jeffer- 
son's River,  where  they  had  sunk  some  canoes  the 
fall  before.  They  soon  got  them  out  of  the  water. 
The  next  day  the  party  divided.  Some  of  them  went 
down  the  river,  as  I  have  told  you,  and  after  several 
days  took  Capt.  Lewis  and  his  men  into  the  canoes. 
Capt.  Clark  set  out  with  the  other  division  of  the  party 
to  go  to  the  Yellow  Stone  River  by  land. 


'IP 


■'ir 


■Ml 


I 


94 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


The  two  parties  kept  pretty  close  to  each  other  four 
days ;  but  on  the  13th,  they  separated  entirely.  At 
night  Capt.  Clark  reached  Gallatin  River,  where  they 
found  the  game  very  abundant  The  next  morning 
they  went  on  across  the  prairies  quite  slowly,  for  their 
horses  had  sore  feet  On  the  next  day  they  came  to 
a  branch  of  the  Yellow  Stone. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 


How  one  of  Capt.  Clark's  Men  hurt  himself. — How  the  In- 
dians stole  twentyfour  Horses. — How  the  Wolves  carried 
off  some  Meat. — About  the  Horses. — How  the  Buffaloes 
stopped  the  Party. — How  a  Grisly  Bear  attacked  the 
Men. — Mout  the  Musquitoes. — How  a  Wolf  hit  Sergeant 
Pryor, 

Capt.  Clark  and  his  men  kept  on  down  the  river, 
but  very  slowly,  for  the  hoofs  of-the  horses  were  now 
almost  worn  out.  The  men,  however,  made  a  kind  of 
moccasins  for  them  of  raw  buffalo  skins.  The  day  after, 
they  passed  a  fort  that  some  Indians  had  thrown  up 
for  defence,  on  some  occasion  when  they  had  been 
hard  pressed  by  their  enemies.  It  was  a  round  pen, 
built  of  logs ;  the  wall  was  five  feet  high. 

On  the  eighteenth,  one  of  the  men  named  Gibson 
fell  from  his  horse  upon  a  sharp  piece  of  wood,  which 
ran  into  his  thigh.  The  wound  was  very  painful,  but 
the  party  could  not  stop.  They  put  him  upon  the 
gentlest  and  strongest  horse  they  had,  and  kept  on. 
But  the  next  day  Gibson's  wound  was  so  painful  that 
h«  could  not  ride. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


m 


Capt.  Clark  loft  him  with  two  men  under  the  shade 
of  a  tree,  and  went  on  to  look  for  timber  to  make 
canoes  of.  At  a  distance  of  about  eighteen  miles  he 
found  some  trees  large  enough  for  small  canoes,  and 
Gibson  was  carried  to  the  place.  The  next  day  tliey 
cut  down  two  trees,  and  began  to  work  at  making 
canoes.  That  night  twentyfour  of  their  horses  were 
stolen  by  the  Indians. 

They  looked  a  good  while  for  these  horses,  but 
they  never  saw  them  again.  Nor  were  the  Indians 
the  only  thieves ;  the  wolves  came  and  stole  their 
meat  from  where  it  was  hung  to  the  branch  of  a 
tree.  On  the  23d  they  had  finished  two  canoes. 
They  were  small  ones,  but  they  lashed  them  together, 
and  made  them  answer  pretty  well. 

On  the  twentyfourth.  Sergeant  Pryor  went  along 
the  river  with  the  horses,  and  Capt.  Clark  with  the 
rest  of  the  men  went  down  the  stream  in  their  little 
canoes.  Pryor  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  the 
horses.  They  had  all  been  used  to  hunting  buffaloes, 
and  as  soon  as  they  saw  a  herd,  they  would  start  and 
run  after  them.  At  last  he  had  to  send  a  man  ahead 
to  scare  all  the  buffaloes  out  of  the  way,  for  the  horses 
would  not  be  hindered  from  chasing  them. 

In  this  way  they  kept  on  down  the  stream ;  but  six 
nights  afterwards,  so  many  buffaloes  came  to  cross 
the  river,  that  the  party  were  in  danger  of  being 
crushed  to  death,  or  at  least,  of  having  their  canoes 
broken  to  pieces.  The  next  day  they  saw  a  very 
large  grisly  bear  devouring  a  buffalo,  on  an  island  in 
the  river.  They  shot  two  balls  through  him,  but  he 
ewam  to  the  main  land  and  walked  on  the  bank,  look- 


ii 
I 

I 


ft  •' 


f 


90 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


ing  back  and  growling  at  tho  party.  Capt.  Clark  land- 
ed, and  shot  two  more  bullets  through  his  body,  but 
the  bear  escaped,  notwithstanding,  for  it  was  getting 
too  dark  to  follow  liim. 

The  next  day  so  large  a  herd  of  buffaloes  was  cross- 
ing the  river,  that  tlioy  choked  it  quite  up ;  they  were, 
in  truth,  as  thick  as  they  could  swim.  There  was  no 
room  for  the  canoes  to  get  between  them,  and  the 
party  had  to  stop  more  than  an  hour  to  let  them  pass. 
They  consoled  themselves  for  stopping,  by  killing  four 
of  the  herd.  The  cattle  and  wild  sheep  and  elks  and 
other  fourfooted  beasts  were  now  so  plentiful,  that  you 
can  hardly  have  any  idea  of  the  number. 

On  the  next  day,  which  was  the  2d  of  August,  as 
they  were  passing  along,  they  saw  a  grisly  bear  sitting 
on  a  sand  bar.  He  growled,  and  jumped  into  the 
water  and  swam  after  the  canoe.  Tho  men  shot  him 
in  three  places,  and  then  seeming  to  change  his  mind, 
he  turned  round  and  swam  ashore.  The  same  eve- 
ning they  shot  another  bear,  and  they  had  some  difficul- 
ty on  account  of  the  great  numbers  of  buffaloes  in 
the  water. 

The  next  day,  Capt.  Clark  went  ashore  to  shoot 
some  wild  sheep,  but  the  musquitoes  were  so  trouble- 
some that  he  was  obliged  to  return.  One  of  the  men, 
however,  shot  a  large  ram,  with  a  very  beautiful  skin, 
which  they  took  off  whole,  and  carried  along  with 
them.  This  day  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yel- 
low Stone.  The  busy  musquitoes  would  not  allow 
them  to  hunt,  nor  work,  nor  do  anything  in  peace. 
So  they  concluded  to  go  farther  down,  and  Capt. 
Clark  wrote  a  letter,  and  stuck  it  up  on  a  pole,  where 
Capt.  Lewis  found  it,  as  I  have  already  told  you. 


n 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


07 


land- 
but 
ftingr 


Though  the  buffaloes  had  been  so  abundant  before, 
the  party  could  not  now  see  one,  but  they  killed  a 
grisly  bear,  and  ate  the  flesh.  For  three  days  the  mus- 
quitoes  kept  them  in  constant  torment.  On  the  sev- 
enth, there  was  a  strong  cold  wind  that  drove  the  mus- 
quitoes  all  away.  The  next  day  Sergeant  Pryor  arriv- 
ed. He  had  lost  the  horses ;  the  Indians  had  stolen 
them  all  away.  He  had  also  been  bitten  by  a  wolf 
while  he  lay  asleep.  But  the  Sergeant  killed  the  wolf, 
as  a  reward  for  his  impudence.  After  he  had  lost 
the  horses,  he  made  two  canoes  of  buffalo  skins, 
and  floated  down  the  river  in  them. 

After  the  Sergeant  joined  the  party  under  Capt. 
Clark,  they  all  proceeded  down  the  stream.  They  went 
ashore  to  breakfast,  where  they  found  the  two  In- 
dian traders,  Dickson  and  Hancock,  of  whom  I  told 
you  before.  Capt.  Clark  soon  left  them,  and  went  for- 
ward. 

At  night,  their  old  enemies,  the  musquitoes,  came 
to  them  again,  and  treated  them  as  badly  as  ever. 
On  the  12th  of  August,  one  of  their  canoes  was  a  little 
injured,  and  they  put  ashore  to  mend  it.  While  they 
were  thus  employed,  they  were  delighted  to  see  Capt. 
Lewis  and  his  men  coming  down  the  river.  They 
were  very  sorry,  however,  to  find  him  so  badly  wound- 
ed. But  after  so  many  adventures,  and  such  long  and 
dangerous  journeys,  they  were  now  again  united. 

The  next  morning  they  all  set  out  at  sunrise,  and 
went  down  the  river  together.  They  saw  some  In- 
dians at  a  distance,  some  on  the  water  and  some  on 
shore.  These  were  Minnetarees  or  Big  Bellies,  and 
the  travellers  expected  soon  to  come  to  the  Mandan 

9 


ii 


98 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


h 


village.  The  next  day  they  arrived  at  the  encamp- 
ment of  the  Minnetarees,  and  fired  a  salute.  Here 
was  a  crowd  of  Indians  wlio  welcomed  them  back. 
They  went  on  a  little  farther  to  the  village  of  the  Ma- 
hahas.  The  Captains  sent  Chaboneau  to  invite  the 
Minnetarees  to  come  and  visit  them ;  and  they  sent 
Drewyer  to  another  village  to  get  a  white  interpreter 
who  was  living  there.     They  all  soon  came. 

Capt.  Clark  spoke  to  the  chiefs ;  and  invited  some 
of  them  to  go  with  him  to  the  United  States.  The 
Black  Cat,  an  old  man,  said  that  he  should  like  to  go, 
but  he  was  afraid  of  the  DaLcotahs.  They  had  lately 
killed  a  good  many  Mandans,  and  they  might  kill  him 
on  his  way.  Capt.  Clark  told  him  he  would  not  let 
the  Dahcotahs  hurt  him. 

The  council  then  '.)roke  up,  and  the  white  men 
crossed  the  river  and  encamped.  The  chief  of  the 
Mandans  told  them  if  they  would  send  to  his  village, 
he  would  give  them  some  corn.  Three  men  went 
accordingly,  and  he  gave  them  as  much  as  they  could 
carry.  Soon  after,  the  grand  chief  of  the  Minnetarees 
came,  and  smoked  with  them ;  and  Capt.  Clark  invited 
him  to  go  to  Washington,  but  he  would  not  go. 

Here  one  of  the  m^n  named  Colter  asked  permis- 
sion to  leave  the  party,  and  remain  in  the  Indian  coun- 
try. He  wanted  to  hunt  beaver.  They  let  him  do 
as  he  pleased,  and  gave  him  powder  and  lead.  He 
left  them,  and  was  not  long  after  taken  by  the  Black- 
feet,  and  came  near  being  killed.  There  is  a  story 
about  him  that  I  will  perhaps  tell  you  another  time. 

The  next  day  the  Mandan  gave  the  travellers  more 
corn  than  all  their  canoes  would  hold.    They  thank- 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


oy 


ed  the  Mandans,  and  took  only  as  much  as  they 
really  wanted.  Then  Captain  Clark  made  the  Minne- 
taree  chiefs  presents,  hoping  to  persuade  them  to  go 
to  Washington,  but  they  would  not  be  persuaded.  At 
last  one  of  the  Mandan  chiefs,  named  The  Big 
White,  agreed  to  go,  and  his  wife  and  son  were  to  go 
with  him. 

The  next  day,  the  Indian  chiefs  came  to  the  water 
side,  to  bid  our  travellers  good-bye.  But  Chaboneau 
told  the  Captain  that  he  would  remain  where  he  was. 
He  said  he  had  no  acquaintance  among  the  whites,  and 
did  not  know  how  to  get  his  living  there,  and  he  would 
rather  stay  with  the  Indians.  This  man  and  his  wife 
had  been  very  serviceable  to  the  party,  especially 
among  the  Shoshonees.  They  paid  him  his  wages, 
bade  him  farewell,  and  then  floated  down  the  river  to 
Big  White's  wigwam. 

The  friends  of  this  chief  were  sitting  round  him 
smoking,  and  the  women  were  crying.  He  sent  his  wife 
and  son  on  board  the  canoes  and  stopped  for  the  other 
chiefs  to  speak  to  Capt.  Clark.  They  told  the  Capt. 
that  they  would  follow  his  advice,  and  make  peace  with 
all  the  world,  excepting  the  Dahcotahs,  who  they  de- 
clared were  bad  people.  They  begged  him  to  take 
good  care  of  Big  White,  so  that  he  might  return  in 
safety,  and  tell  them  about  what  he  saw  and  heard. 

Then  the  travellers  started,  but  an  Indian  came  run- 
ning along  the  shore  after  them,  and  called  to  them 
to  stop.  It  was  Big  White's  brother.  Big  White 
gave  him  a  pair  of  leggins,  and  they  parted  very  af- 
fectionately. The  chief  seemed  quite  cheerful  and 
satisfied ;  and  showed  them  the  place  where  tlie  Man- 


1^ 


-  ii 


I: 


100 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


dans  had  formerly  lived,  on  the  river.  They  went  for- 
ty miles  this  day,  and  encamped  opposite  to  where 
there  had  once  been  a  Mandan  village. 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 


About  the  Rickarees  and  Shiannes. — About  Porcupines- — 
Ho20  the  Tetons  acted. — How  the  Yanktons  behaved. — 
How  the  White  Men  arrived  at  St  Louis. 

They  now  went  on  very  comfortably,  and  killed  as 
many  elks  and  deer  as  they  wanted  to  eat.  Three  days 
afterwards,  they  met  three  white  traders  on  their  way 
to  the  Mandan  village.  They  had  shot  away  all  their 
powder  and  lead,  and  the  Captains  gave  them  some. 
They  said  the  Dahcotahs  were  marching  to  make 
war  on  the  Minnetarees  and  Mandans.  They  now  left 
the  traders  and  reached  the  Rickaree  village.  The 
Rickarees  came  out  to  meet  the  travellers  ;  and  so  did 
a  great  many  Shiannes,  who  were  encamped  close  by. 

Captain  Clark  stepped  on  shore,  and  the  Indians  sat 
down  on  the  ground  round  him.  Here  they  smoked  and 
talked.  Captain  Clark  blamed  them  for  going  to  war 
with  the  Minnetarees  and  Mandans ;  but  they  had  ex- 
cuses to  make.  It  was  done,  they  said,  by  young  men, 
and  the  Dahcotahs  had  set  them  on.  The  chief  of  the 
Shiannes  now  invited  the  white  men  into  his  lodge, 
and  they  accepted  the  invitation.  - 

These  Shiannes  are  very  fine  looking  people,  but 
their  women  are  ugly ;  they  wear  blue  beads,  bears' 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


101 


claws,  shells,  and  a  great  deal  of  such  trumpery,  for 
ornaments.  They  have  so  many  horses,  that  when 
they  move,  even  the  dogs  do  not  go  on  foot,  but  ride 
with  their  masters.  Captain  Clark  gave  the  chief  a 
medal ;  and  in  return,  the  latter  gave  the  captain  a 
great  deal  of  buffalo  meat.  He  said  he  wanted 
travellers  to  come  among  the  Indians,  and  was  very 
polite. 

Captain  Clark  observed  a  Rickaree  Chief  who  was 
painted  black,  because  the  Mandans  had  killed  his  son. 
This  chief  began  to  rail  at  Big  White  about  it,  and 
would  probably  have  killed  him,  but  Captain  Clark  told 
him  that  he  would  not  allow  the  Mandan  chief  to  be  hurt. 
He  was  then  pacified,  and  invited  Big  White  to  smoke 
with  him  in  his  lodge.  The  Rickarees  and  the  Man- 
dan  were  then  very  polite  to  each  other.  After  this 
the  travellers  had  a  talk  with  the  Rickarees,  and  at 
length  set  off  to  go  down  the  river,  though  it  rained 
very  hard. 

On  the  26th  of  the  month,  the  travellers  found  a 
raft  and  a  skin  canoe  on  the  river.  This  made  them 
suspect  that  the  Tetons  were  not  far  off.  They  put 
their  guns  in  good  order,  and  got  ready  for  a  fight,  for 
they  expected  to  be  attacked  by  the  Tetons.  They 
did  not  see  them,  however,  but  still  kept  all  ready. 

Three  days  after,  they  killed  a  Porcupine.  This  is 
a  creature  as  big  as  a  large  cat.  It  is  covered  with 
long  sharp  quills.  It  is  very  good  to  eat;  and  the 
Indians  ornament  their  dresses  very  plentifully  with 
the  quills.  It  cannot  run  fast,  so  that  a  man  can 
easily  catch  it.    It  was  once  thought  that  it  could 

Pacific  N.  VV.  Hifio-'y  Dopt, 

PROVINCIAL.  LiDRARY 
VICTOfilA,  B.C. 


<■., 


I 

>1 


; 


102 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


:  1 


throw  its  quills,  and  stick  them  into  a  person  some 
way  off,  but  this  is  an  idle  notion. 

On  the  30th,  as  they  went  along,  they  saw  about 
twenty  people,  on  a  hill,  afar  off.  Capt.  Clark  looked  at 
them  through  his  spy-glass,  and  perceived  that  they 
were  Indians.  The  party  now  landed ;  and  at  the  same 
time  ninety  Indians  came  out  of  a  wood  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river,  and  fired  a  salute.  Some  of 
them  had  guns,  and  some  bows  and  arrows. 

They  were  the  Tetons,  who  had  tried  to  stop  the 
travellers  as  they  went  up  the  river.  Captain  Clark 
spoke  to  them,  and  put  them  in  mind  of  it.  He  told 
them  to  go  away,  for  they  were  bad  people,  and  if  they 
offered  to  cross  the  river  and  come  to  him,  his  men 
should  shoot  them.  Then  some  of  the  Tetons  sat 
down  on  the  opposite  side,  and  abused  him  with  harsh 
speeches. 

After  a  while,  the  white  men  got  into  their  canoes 
again,  and  steered  over  to  the  side  where  the  Tetons 
were.  One  of  the  Indians  asked  them  to  land.  They 
refused,  and  he  was  very  angry.  However,  the  trav- 
ellers went  on,  and  the  Indians  did  them  no  harm. 
They  stopped  six  miles  below ;  and  it  rained  and  thun- 
dered terribly  all  night.  The  storm  wet  the  men, 
but  kept  off  the  musquitoes. 

As  they  went  along  the  next  day,  they  saw  several 
Indians  on  the  hills,  but  they  did  not  come  near.  On 
the  1st  of  September,  several  Indians  ran  down  to  the 
shore,  and  asked  the  travellers  to  land,  but  they  would 
not.  On  the  third  of  the  month,  they  met  a  trader  nam- 
ed Airs,  who  was  going  to  traffic  with  the  Dahcotahs. 
Two  days  after,  they  met  another  trader.    He  was 


1» 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


103 


a  Frenchman,  and  his  name  was  Augustus  Choteau. 
He  gave  them  some  whiskey ;  it  was  the  first  they 
had  seen  for  a  great  while. 

As  they  went  on,  they  met  more  traders.  They 
also  killed  deer  and  elks  and  other  creatures,  and  had 
plenty  to  eat.  On  the  23d  of  the  month,  they  arrived 
at  St  Louis.  They  had  been  gone  more  than  two 
years,  and  everybody  thought  they  were  dead.  They 
were  so  altered,  and  so  dressed,  that  at  first  the  peo- 
ple took  them  for  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 


How  Captain  Clark  was  rewarded. — How  Captain  Lewis 
became  deranged^  and  shot  himself. — About  the  Mis- 
souri  Indians. — A  Story  of  Colter    and  the   Black' 
foot  Indians. 

At  first,  the  travellers  could  not  bear  to  sleep  in  beds ; 
but  after  a  while  they  became  again  accustomed  to 
them.  They  had  been  given  up  as  dead  for  a  long 
time,  for  their  friends  had  heard  nothing  of  them 
since  they  left  the  Mandan  village,  as  they  went  up  the 
Missouri.  It  was  thought  that  they  had  been  killed 
by  the  Indians,  or  drowned,  or  perhaps  starved  to 
death.  So  their  safe  return  was  an  agreeable  sur- 
prise to  every  one. 

This  expedition  was  very  useful.  The  Captains 
had  taken  care  to  note  down  all  they  had  seen,  in 
writing.    They  were  the  first  Americans  who  went 


(;.- 


h  ; 


m 


104 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


by  land  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  All  wo 
know  of  the  Columbia  River  and  of  the  country 
through  which  it  flows,  and  of  the  savages  who  inhabit 
it,  we  owe  to  them.  Our  fur  traders  have  gone  farther, 
and  our  knowledge  of  geography  has  been  increased 
in  consequence  of  their  travels. 

As  a  reward  for  his  services,  Captain  Clark  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  department.  He  is 
now  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  the  West. 
He  has  red  hair,  and  the  Indians  all  call  him  Red  Head. 

Captain  Lewis  soon  after  his  return  became  in- 
sane. As  he  was  going  to  Washington,  he  shot 
himself  with  a  pistol.  He  died  very  much  regretted 
by  those  who  knew  him. 

The  Indians  on  the  Missouri  are  now  very  much 
such  people  as  they  were  at  the  time  Captains  Lewis 
and  Clark  performed  their  expedition,  which  you  will 
recollect  was  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  They 
fight  with  each  other  as  much  as  ever.  They  are  bet- 
ter provided  with  guns,  for  they  have  white  traders 
among  them,  almost  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They 
have  also  learned  to  drink  whiskey,  which  does  them 
great  injury.  But  they  are  just  as  hospitable,  as  lazy, 
and  as  fond  of  feathers  now  as  they  were  then.  But 
there  is  one  thing  among  them,  ignorant  as  they  are, 
that  is  much  to  their  credit:  they  never  take  the 
Lord's  name  in  vain.  When  the  oaths  of  the  white 
people  are  explained  to  them,  they  are  very  much 
hurt  and  offended.  It  would  be  well  if  all  white  peo- 
ple would  learn  a  lesson  from  them  in  this. 

Colter,  as  I  told  you,  was  left  by  Captains  Lewis 
and  Clark  at  the  Mandan  village.    He  went  on  a 


-f^' 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


105 


hunting  expedition  v/ith  another  man,  whose  name,  I 
believe,  was  Potts.  As  they  were  going  up  a  little 
stream  in  a  canoe,  the  Blackfoot  Indians  appeared  on 
the  bank.  Potts  knew  that  they  would  endeavour  to 
kill  him,  so  he  fired  at  them,  and  killed  one  of  the 
Indians  on  the  spot.  The  other  Indians  instantly 
discharged  their  arrows  at  Potts,  which  entered  his 
body  and  slew  him.  They  then  caught  Colter  and 
stripped  him.  They  asked  him  if  he  could  run  very 
fast ;  he  replied  that  he  could  not.  So  they  let  him 
go,  and  told  him  to  run  for  his  life.  He  sat  out,  and 
they  pursued.  He  got  ahead  of  them  all,  but  one ; 
this  one  threw  a  spear  at  him,  but  just  as  he  flung  it 
he  fell  down.  Colter  snatched  up  the  spear  and 
stabbed  the  man  to  the  heart.  Then  he  ran  on  till 
he  came  to  the  bank  of  the  Missouri.  There  was  a 
great  raft  of  drift  wood  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 
He  dived  into  the  water,  and  got  under  it  just  as  the 
Indians  came  to  the  bank. 

They  searched  for  him  a  great  while,  but  at  last 
went  away,  thinking  he  was  dead.  As  soon  as  they 
were  gone,  he  came  out  and  swam  ashore.  He  was 
naked  and  hungry,  but  after  much  suflering  he  got 
to  the  settlements  of  white  men.  He  recovered  from 
his  fatigues,  and  perhaps  he  is  living  now. 


H. 


-  I 


Si^Bi 


■I  IB 

H  [n 

9  1 

H  ill 

I  I 


p^ 


'rr 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


107 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MAJOR   long's    expedition. 

Holo  Major  Long  went  up  the  Missouri  f  and  who  went  with 
him. — Mr  Say  and  others  go  on  an  Exploring  Party. — 
•%out  the  Konzas. 


Now  that  I  have  got  through  with  the  travels  of 
Captains  Lewis  and  Clark,  I  will  give  you  a  little  in- 
formation about  Major  Long's  Expedition  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Arkansas  River. 

I  hope  you  will  look  at  the  map,  as  you  proceed  in 
the  story,  and  trace  the  route  of  the  travellers.  You 
will  find  it  on  the  map,  and  it  will  assist  you  in  form- 
ing clear  ideas  of  their  journey. 

In  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  nineteen.  Major 
Long  received  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  at 
Washington,  to  go  up  the  Missouri,  with  an  exploring 
party.  He  was  directed  to  learn  all  he  could  about 
the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  gain  as  much  information  as  possible 
about  the  Indians. 

Several  learned  men  accompanied  Major  Long  in 
this  expedition.  There  was  Dr  Baldwin,  a  botanist  sfnd 
physician  ;  Mr  Say,  who  attended  to  natural  history; 
and  Mr  Seymour,  painter  and  draughtsman. 

The  whole  party  started  from  St  Louis  in  a  steam- 
boat, and  got  along  faster  and  easier  than  Captains 
Lewis  and  Clark  had  done  before  them.  As  they 
went  along,  they  saw  the  banks  of  the  river  Missouri 
falling  in,  as  they  always  have  done,  and  I  suopose 


r-WB^B**^"""— ^ 


.''>' 


.r  •  ■    » 


108 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


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i:\ 


I 


% 


! 


always  will  do.  At  St  Charles  they  were  joined  by 
Mr  O'Fallon,  an  Indian  Agent.  Here  Mr  Say  and 
some  others  hired  a  horse  and  a  pack-saddle.  They 
put  their  blankets  and  some  victuals  on  this  horse,  and 
started  to  go  up  the  river  by  land. 

These  gentlemen  suffered  very  much  from  thirst. 
The  evening  after  they  left  the  steamboat,  their  pack- 
horse  ran  away,  but  they  caught  him  again.  The 
next  morning  they  bought  provisions  of  some  Indians 
and  went  on.  Their  horse  ran  away  again,  and  they  saw 
no  more  of  him.  So  after  all  these  adventures,  they 
went  to  Loutre  Island  in  the  Missouri,  and  waited 
for  the  steamboat,  which  soon  arrived. 

When  they  got  to  Franklin,  Dr  Baldwin  grew  so 
sick,  that  he  could  go  no  farther.  They  left  him,  and 
he  shortly  after  died.  On  the  twentyfirst  of  July,  Mr 
Say  and  some  of  the  rest  left  the  steamboat  to  go  to 
Fort  Osage  by  land.  After  this,  they  neither  saw 
nor  did  anything  worth  mentioning  till  they  arrived 
at  the  Fort. 

They  wished  to  examine  the  country  between  Fort 
Osage  and  the  Konzas  River ;  and  between  Konzas 
River  and  Platte  River.  So  Mr  Say  and  eleven  oth- 
ers started  for  that  purpose.  They  took  three  pack- 
horses,  and  provisions  for  ten  days. 

Just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Konzas,  they  saw  a 
party  of  white  hunters,  who  appeared  to  them  more 
rude  than  the  savages.  These  men  go  in  large  par- 
ties into  the  Indian  country,  and  kill  beaver.  When 
they  have  taken  as  many  as  they  can,  they  return  to 
the  settlements,  and  sell  the  skins.  There  are  a 
great  many  of  these  hunters  now,  and  quarrels  often 
take  place  between  them  and  the  Indians. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


109 


f 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


Description  of  the  Konzas. — How  Mr  Say  and  his  Party 
were  robbed  by  the  Pavmees.—How  they  built  Houses 
near  Council  Bluffsy  and  were  visited  by  various  Tribes 
of  Indians. — About  the  Pawnees. — How  the  Party  set 
out  for  the  River  Platte, — Their  Adventures, 

After  a  day  or  two  the  party  came  in  sight  of  tlie 
Konzas  village. — Here  they  looked  at  their  guns,  to 
see  if  they  were  in  good  order,  for  they  expected 
some  mischief  would  happen.  But  the  Indians  came 
riding  to  them  as  fast  as  their  horses  could  run,  to  wel- 
come them.  They  were  all  painted  and  decorated  in 
Indian  fashion,  from  head  to  foot.  Two  of  the  Chiefs 
went  beside  them  to  keep  the  crowd  off. 

They  showed  Mr  Say  and  his  party  into  a  great 
wigwam,  and  treated  them  very  well.  This  wigwam 
was  made  of  poles  and  bark  like  those  in  which  tlie 
Dahcotahs  live  during  the  summer.  They  gave  the 
travellers  sweet  corn  and  buffalo  meat,  and  beans  to 
eat.  These  were  served  in  wooden  bowls.  The 
great  Chief  of  these  Indians  was  called  The  Fool. 

Before  the  Konza  girls  marry,  they  work  in  the 
corn  fields,  cut  wood,  and  do  all  kinds  of  drudgery ; 
but  when  they  are  married,  they  do  not  have  so  hard 
a  time.  These  marriages  are  proclaimed  by  a  crier, 
and  celebrated  with  feasting  and  frolicking.  Most  of 
the  men  have  four  or  five  wives,  and  these  are  oflen 
all  sisters.    They  think  all  the  Indians  in  the  world 

10 


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no 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


i 


|i! 


are  the  descendants  of  the  Konzas,  and  have  a  great 
conceit  of  themselves. 

They  dress  like  the  other  Indians  I  have  described 
to  you.  As  tlicy  have  been  a  great  while  at  peace 
with  the  Osages,  they  often  marry  Osage  women. 
They  are  many  of  them  tatooed.  The  women  are 
industrious,  and  are  proud  of  being  bo.  The  Kon- 
zas  are  a  very  warlike  people. 

On  the  24th  of  the  month,  the  party  left  the  village. 
At  length  they  stopped  in  the  prairie  to  take  some  food, 
when  all  on  a  sudden  they  saw  a  great  cloud  of  dust  at  a 
distance.  They  soon  perceived  that  it  was  raised  by 
a  large  party  of  Indians  coming  towards  them.  They 
prepared  themselves  to  fight,  and  did  not  wait  long 
before  the  Indians  came  up.       ^. 

They  were  armed  and  painted  as  Indians  always 
.are  when  they  go  to  battle.  They  ran  up  to  the 
white  men,  and  began  to  shake  hands  with  them,  and 
to  make  signs  of  peace.  At  the  same  time,  some  of 
the  Indians  caught  several  of  the  horses  and  rode  about 
on  them.  The  white  men  stood  by  their  baggage, 
but  they  could  not  hinder  the  Indians  from  stealing 
some  articles.  In  fact,  they  took  everything  they 
could  lay  their  hansls  upon.  They  stood  ready  with 
their  bows  and  arrov/s  to  shoot  the  travellers,  if  they 
resisted.  One  of  the  soldiers  cocked  his  gun  at  an 
Indian  who  had  stolen  his  knapsack.  The  Indian 
laughed,  and  drew  his  arrow  to  the  head.  But  at 
last  they  all  went  off  as  fast  as  they  came,  carrying 
away  with  them  all  the  travellers'  horses.  There 
were  more  than  a  hundred  of  them,  all  well  armed. 
They  belonged  to  a  tribe  called  Pawnees. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


Ill 


reat 


The  party,  having  thus  lost  their  horses  and  being 
unable  to  get  any  more,  were  obliged  to  give  up 
their  expedition.  They  returned  to  the  Konzas  vil- 
lage they  had  left  the  day  before,  and  then  set  out  to 
join  Major  Long  on  the  Missouri,  which  they  at  length 
accomplished. 

Having  proceeded  up  the  river  Missouri  to  a  place 
a  little  below  Council  Bluffs,  the  party  under  Major 
Long  selected  a  spot,  and  began  to  build  houses  for 
the  approaching  winter.  While  they  were  occupied 
in  these  preparations,  they  were  visited  by  one  hun- 
dred old  Indians,  and  some  loways.  These  danced 
before  Mr  O'Fallon's  door,  and  some  of  them  recited 
their  exploits  in  war.  Next  came  seventy  of  the 
Pawnees.  They  were  at  first  afraid,  for  they  recollect- 
ed the  robbery  they  had  committed  upon  Mr  Say  and 
his  party.  Mr  O'Fallon  had  a  council  with  them ; 
the  Pawnees  expressed  their  sorrow  for  what  had 
happened,  and  restored  some  of  the  things  they  had 
taken. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter,  four  hundred  Omahaws 
came  to  see  the  white  men. — Then  came  some  Dah- 
cotahs,  who  were  very  much  afraid  of  the  steamboat. 
With  all  of  these  Indians  the  white  men  held  councils, 
and  many  civilities  passed  on  both  sides. 

In  the  Spring,  some  of  the  explorers  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Pawnees.  When  they  came  nigh  the  village, 
a  messenger  came  to  tell  them,  that  the  chief  would 
not  come  out  to  meet  them.  Mr  O'Fallon  said  that 
if  he  would  not  come  out  to  receive  him,  he  would  go 
through  his  village  without  stopping.  When  they 
had  got  nearer,  they  saw  the  Pawnee  squaws  carry- 


I 


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112 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


I 

]  ( 

1  ^ 

i 

^1 

ing  wood  to  the  wigwams,  on  their  backs,  in  very  hea- 
vy loads. 

Shortly  after,  two  Pawnee  chiefs  came  to  meet 
them,  very  finely  dressed.  One  of  them,  called  Tar- 
rarecawaho,  stopped  as  he  came  up,  without  even 
looking  at  the  white  men.  They  parsed  by  without 
noticing  him,  and  he  soon  became  more  polite.  Mr 
O'Fallon  asked  if  he  was  glad  to  see  him,  and  he 
said  he  was.  He  then  invited  them  into  his  wigwam, 
and  they  went  in  with  drums  and  fifes  playing. 

Mr  O'Fallon  made  a  speech,  and  the  Pawnee  Chief 
answered  him :  he  said  he  knew  that  the  Americans 
were  able  to  crush  the  Pawnees  in  their  hands  like 
flies ;  and  he  had  advised  his  people  to  treat  them  well. 
He  said  he  would  speak  again  the  next  day.  He 
came  as  he  said,  and  a  good  many  Pawnees  with  him. 
They  sat  down  on  the  ground.  And  then  they  spoke 
in  a  friendly  way,  and  the  council  broke  up. 

After  this  the  officers  went  to  another  Pawnee  village. 
The  inhabitants  came  out  to  meet  them  on  horseback, 
and  rode  about  in  a  boantiful  manner.  There  were 
three  or  four  hundred  of  them,  painted  and  dressed 
with  feathers.  All  the  while  they  kept  up  the  most 
terrible  yelling.  Presently  the  Chiefs  came  forward 
slowly,  and  shook  hands  witli  the  white  men. 

Then  Mr  O'Fallon  held  a  council  with  these  In- 
dians, and  gave  them  some  presents.  There  was 
feasting  and  a  great  many  compliments.  They  had 
lately  lost  a  great  number  of  their  people  in  battles 
with  the  Tetons,  Kiaways  and  Arrapahoes.  At  last 
the  white  men  left  them,  and  returned  to  Council 
Bluffs.  ^ 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


113 


It  was  now  June,  and  the  steamboat  having  re- 
turned to  St  Louis,  our  explorers  prepared  to  go  by 
land  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Platte.  There  were 
nineteen  men,  besides  the  Officers ;  there  were  also 
six  horses  and  mules.  The  stores  consisted  of  pork, 
biscuit,  flour,  whiskey,  and  many  other  things.  At 
length  they  set  out  and  reached  the  Pawnee  village, 
where  some  of  the  white  men  had  been  before,  as  I 
have  told  you.  Tarrarecawaho  gave  them  some  food 
to  eat,  and  treated  them  handsomely.  This  chief 
had  eleven  wives,  and  ten  children ! 

The  Pawnees  tried  to  persuade  the  white  men  not 
to  go  on  their  journey,  but  they  would  not  be  so  per- 
suaded. The  Indians  begged  for  many  things,  but  did 
not  get  them.  They  said  they  were  very  poor.  The 
great  chief  and  his  son,  came  to  see  them.  There 
were  about  two  thousand  men  in  the  Pawnee  tribe. 
As  the  travellers  went  along,  they  saw  a  multitude  of 
squaws  at  work  in  the  cornfields,  but  the  men  were 
sauntering  about,  doing  nothing. 

The  party  now  continued  their  journey.  They 
travelled  for  many  days  over  a  vast  prairie.  Occa- 
sionally they  killed  buffaloes  and  other  wild  animals. 
At  length  they  came  to  hills,  and  here  they  saw  im- 
mense herds  of  buffaloes,  some  of  them  bellowing  and 
pawing  the  ground.  In  one  place  tliey  saw  sixteen 
buffalo  skulls,  which  the  Pawnees  had  placed  there,  to 
show  that  they  had  been  at  war,  and  killed  some  of 
their  enemies. 


f. 


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* . 


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114 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Buffaloes  again j  and  loild  Horses. — About  the  Mirage. 
How  the  Party  arrived  at  the  Rocky  Mountains. — How 
they  went  to  the  River  Arkansas j  and  hoio  they  separated. 
— How  the  Wolves  fell  upon  a  Buffalo. — Description 
of  the  Kaskaias. — Adventure  with  an  File. — About 
Creating  wild  Horses. — The  Party  meet  with  some  Che- 
rokees  and  arrive  at  Bella  Pointe. 


II 

I 

i 


One  night,  at  a  late  hour,  the  travellers  were  awakened 
by  a  loud  noise.  They  got  up  in  alarm,  and  ''^"!  * 
that  the  horses  had  broken  loose.  These  were  fright- 
ened by  buffaloes,  which  came  near  the  camp,  and 
they  occasioned  the  disturbance. — Scarcely  were  tlie 
men  asleep,  before  they  wei'e  awakened  again  by  the 
report  of  a  gun.  This  was  the  signal  for  Indians  ; 
but  Major  Long  had  fired  the  gun,  to  see  how  his 
party  would  behave. 

The  next  day  they  saw  a  great  herd  of  buffaloes, 
swinmiing  across  the  river.  There  was  a  gap  in  the 
bank  where  the  buffaloes  would  have  to  come  up. 
One  of  the  party  rode  in  front  of  this  place  to  look 
at  the  buffaloes.  Just  as  he  got  there,  the  leader  of 
the  herd  came  up,  and  stared  him  in  the  face.  The 
horse  was  frightened,  and  so  was  the  buffalo.  But 
the  buffaloes  behind,  pushed  on  those  before :  these 
were  frightened  by  the  men,  and  they  ran  about  in 
confusion.  Some  of  the  buffaloes  were  killed  in  the 
hubbub. 

The  day  after  this,  the  travellers  saw  thirty  wild 
horses.    They  were  very  handsome  and  ^cry  swift. 


.t 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSlt>PI. 


115 


On  the  thirtieth  of  the  month,  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  was  snow  on  the 
tops  of  them.  Here  they  saw  what  looked,  at  a  dis- 
tance, like  water;  but  it  was  not  water.  It  was  a 
kind  of  vapor  that  rises  from  the  prairie.  I  have 
often  been  chepted  by  it  myself.  It  is  called  Mirage, 
A  crow  in  the  mirage  appears  as  large  as  a  buffalo. 
On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  of  July,  they  encamped 
at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Some  of  the  party  ascended  these  mountains,  but 
they  saw  nothing  very  remarkable.  Then  they  set 
out  to  go  to  the  Arkansas  River.  On  the  19th  of  the 
month,  they  came  to  Charles  River,  which  runs  into 
the  Arkansas.  Two  days  after,  they  saw  a  Kaskia 
Indian  and  his  squaw.  They  were  on  horseback,  and 
tho  squaw  was  leading  another  horse.  They  said 
that  there  were  a  great  many  more  Indians  a  little 
way  off,  who  had  been  at  war  with  the  Spaniards,  and 
beaten  them.  The  Kaskaias  sold  tLem  the  spare  horse, 
and  the  squaw  made  a  pack-saddle  for  it. 

The  party  now  divided.  Captain  Bell,  with  Mr  Say, 
and  twelve  more,  were  to  proceed  straight  down  the  Ar- 
kansas to  Fort  Smith.  Major  Long  and  the  rest  were 
to  cross  the  Arkansas,  and  try  to  find  the  sources  of 
the  Red  Rivnr.  The  latter  party  crossed  the  Arkan- 
sas river,  and  began  their  journey.  Soon  after  their 
departure,  the  Major  and  his  men  had  eaten  up  all 
their  victuals.  But  they  wounded  a  buffaloe  bull, 
which  was  attacked  directly  by  a  herd  of  wolves,  who 
pulled  him  down.  They  scared  the  wolves  away,  and 
took  possession  of  the  buffalo  for  themselves. 

On  the  tenth  of  August,  they  saw  a  large  band  of 


^ 


If 


*M 


mammma 


116 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


I 


Indians  coming  toward  them,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river.  They  crossed  over  and  shook  hands  with 
Major  Long  and  his  men.  They  were  all  on  horse- 
back, and  had  a  great  many  squaws  and  children  with 
them.  The  children  who  were  too  small  to  ride  alone, 
were  tied  upon  the  horses'  backs  by  the  legs.  Each 
squaw  drove  several  horses  before  her.  These  In- 
dians were  Kaskaias,  or  Bad  Hearts. 

The  Chief  asked  the  white  men  to  encamp  with  his 
people,  and  they  consented.  They  wanted  to  buy 
horses  ai  *  -'•^visions,  and  they  thought  this  the  best 
way  to  sue .  id  in  getting  them.  The  squaws  pre- 
sently put  up  their  leather  wigwams  in  the  middle  of 
the  prairie.  One  wigwam  was  set  apart  for  the  white 
men.  The  Kaskaias  live  in  these  leather  tents  all 
the  year  round.  The  Chief  was  named  Red  Mouse. 
He  was  a  savage  looking  man,  ana  had  lately  been 
wounded  with  an  arrow. 

The  white  men  now  began  to  trade  with  him  for 
horses.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  what  they  offered. 
He  wanted  to  search  them,  but  they  would  not  let 
him.  They  had  a  quarrel  about  it,  and  the  women 
and  children  were  frightened,  and  ran  away.  The 
travellers  then  asked  for  something  to  eat.  The  In- 
dians gave  them  a  little  meat,  but  unwillingly,  and 
not  enough.    In  this  they  were  not  like  other  Indians. 

These  Indians  were  all  dressed  in  leather,  very 
dirty,  and  covered  with  vermin.  But  they  are  a 
handsome  people  notwithstanding.  Some  of  tiiem 
wore  beads  and  pewter  rings.  They  wore  their  hair 
long  and  tangled ;  and  were  very  rude,  uncivil,  and 
inhospitable.    They  are  very  good  horsemen.    They 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


117 


hunt  the  buffalo  with  bows  and  arrows.  After 
considerable  difficulty  with  these  people,  the  trav- 
ellers left  them,  and  went  on  their  journey. 

In  the  afternoon,  Mr  Peale  left  the  party,  to  hunt. 
He  wandered  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  at 
length  became  so  entirely  lost  that  he  could  not  find 
his  firiends.  He  slept  alone  that  night,  and  was 
much  tormented  by  musquitoes.  The  next  morning, 
he  found  his  companions  again.  They  all  travelled 
on,  over  sandy  plains,  and  on  the  fifteenth,  they  killed 
a  buffalo,  and  thus  had  once  more  something  to 
eat.  They  now  began  to  find  buffaloes  in  plenty, 
and  saw  more  wild  horses. 

They  found  wild  grapes  and  plums  in  great  abun- 
dance. The  wild  turkeys  and  black  bears,  which  are 
common  in  these  regions,  feed  upon  these  fruits.  On 
the  31st  they  killed  a  black  bear.  They  also  endea- 
voured to  crecLse  a  wild  horse.  There  ia  alittle  place  in 
a  horse's  neck,  where  if  he  is  shot,  he  is  stunned,  and 
falls  down.  But  he  soon  gets  up  and  recovers.  This 
way  of  batching  horses  is  called  creasing.  It  requires 
great  accuracy  of  aim  to  hit  this  place  in  the  animal. 
In  the  attempt  made  by  the  travellers,  the  ball  varied 
from  the  mark,  and  killed  the  horse  on  the  spot  As 
they  were  going  along,  one  of  the  men  wounded  a 
Black  Bear.  The  creature  turned  upon  him,  and 
chased  him  ud  a  tree.  You  will  recollect  that  the  black 
bear  is  a  different  creature  from  the  grisly  bear,  he 
is  smaller,  and  less  powerful ;  he  does  not  often  attack 
men,  but  generally  tries  to  escape.  But  at  length  tlie 
bear  went  off,  and  the  man  came  down. 
About  this  time  one  of  the  men,  named  Adams. 


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TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


119 


wandered  from  the  party,  and  was  lost  for  several  days. 
He  was  near  starving  to  death ;  and  when  they  found 
him,  he  was  tired  out,  and  had  laid  himself  down  to 
die. 

On  the  eighth  of  September  the  travellers  found  a  ca- 
noe on  the  bank  of  the  river.  They  took  it,  and  put  two 
men  and  some  of  their  baggage  into  it,  to  go  down  the 
Arkansas  by  water ;  for  their  horses  were  now  almost 
tired  out.  One  of  the  party  this  day  shot  an  elk, 
which  turned  and  attacked  him.  He  ran  into  the 
bushes,  and  the  elk  trying  to  follow  him,  got  so  en- 
tangled by  his  horns,  that  he  could  not  move,  and 
the  men  stabbed  him  with  a  knife. 

On  the  twelfth,  they  met  six  Cherokee  Indians, 
who  told  them  that  they  were  near  the  American 
Fort  at  Belle  Pointe,  and  that  they  might  get  there 
the  next  day.  These  Cherokees  were  on  horseback, 
going  out  to  hunt.  They  were  a  part  of  the  Chero- 
kee nation  from  Georgia,  who  had  come  west  of  the 
Mississippi  to  live.  They  could  not  speak  English 
very  well,  but  made  themselves  understood  by  signs. 
So  the  party  went  on,  though  they  were  very  much 
fatigued. 

That  night,  they  found  some  wild  bees,  and  ate  the 
honey  for  supper.  A  white  man,  who  lived  near,  now 
visited  their  camp,  and  gave  them  some  coffee,  and 
bread,  and  a  bottle  of  whiskey.  The  next  morning 
it  rained,  but  they  started  and  got  to  Fort  Smith  at 
Belle  Pointe.  They  fired  a  pistol,  to  let  the  people 
in  the  fort  know  they  were  there.  A  boat  came,  and 
soon  carried  them  across.  At  this  place  they  found 
Mr  Say  and  his  companions,  who  had  arrived  before 
them. 


.1 


f' 


120 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


I 


Hi 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 

The  Travellers  meet  vnth  various  Tribes  of  Indians. — Mout 
a  Shianne  War  Party. — Herds  of  Buffaloes  and  Wolves 
of  various  Colors. — TTiey  meet  with  some  Tetons,  and 
three  Soldiers  run  away. — TTie  Osages. — Lizards. — A 
great  Spider. — The  Party  arrive  at  Belle   Poi  nt  e. 

Now  we  have  finished  the  story  of  Major  Long  and 
his  companions,  I  will  tell  you  ahout  the  party  that 
they  left  at  the  head  of  Arkansas  River,  under  Capt 
Bell. 

After  Major  Long  departed,  they  deemed  it  necessa- 
ry to  watch  very  carefully,  lest  they  should  be  sur- 
prised by  Indians.  The  next  night  there  was  a  violent 
thunder-storm,  and  one  of  the  men  was  struck  by 
lightning,  but  not  much  hurt.  The  day  after  this 
they  spied  an  Indian  camp,  a  good  way  off.  As  they 
drew  near,  the  Indian  horses  became  frightened,  and 
ran  toward  the  camp.  Very  soon  the  Indians  came 
running  towards  them  as  fast  as  they  could. 

They  were  friendly,  and  shook  hands  with  the 
white  men,  and  asked  them  to  enter  their  leather 
wigwams,  and  take  some  food.  These  Indians  were 
Kiaways,  Kaskaias,  Arrapahoes,  and  Shiannes*  But 
our  travellers  did  not  go  to  their  wigwams  with  them ; 
they  rather  chose  to  pitch  their  tents  by  tiiemselves. 
As  soon  as  the  party  had  fastened  their  horses,  the 
squaws  came  and  brought  them  buffalo  meat,  the 
fattest  and  best  they  had — enough  for  three  days. 

They  smoked  with  the  Indians,  and  told  them  who 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSirPl. 


lai 


\bout 
uves 
land 
—.4 


they  were,  and  where  they  came  from.  At  sunset 
the  savages  all  went  off  peaceably,  and  left  the  white 
men  to  sleep  in  quiet.  In  the  morning  four  chiefs  came 
to  the  white  men's  tents.  They  sat  down  and 
smoked,  as  Indians  always  do  on  such  occasions. 
They  had  a  Pawnee  interpreter  with  them,  and  one 
of  the  Indians  spoke  the  Pawnee  language — so  they 
were  able  to  understand  one  another. 

One  of  the  chiefs  said  he  was  glad  to  see  the  white 
men,  and  hoped  American  traders  would  come  among 
them.  Then  the  travellers  gave  them  some  paint, 
knives  and  combs;  and  in  return  the  Indians  gave 
them  four  horses.  By  this  time,  all  the  Indians  in 
the  camp  came  round  them,  bringing  meat  and  ropes 
of  hair  to  sell. 

These  Indians  wear  false  hair,  reaching  very  low. 
Some  were  painted  with  clay,  and  were  dressr*!  in  lea- 
ther, but  two  or  three  had  blankets,  which  they  had 
bought  of  the  Mexicans.  They  all  behaved  pretty 
well ;  but  the  children  hooted  at  the  travellers,  and  a 
boy  would  have  flung  a  stone  at  Mr  Say  with  a  sling, 
if  he  had  not  scolded  him.  Some  of  these  men  had 
never  seen  a  white  man  before. 

The  Indians  treated  the  tra^^  Hers  kindly,  and  said 
they  liked  the  Americans,  and  thought  they  were 
brave  people.  Finally,  they  took  their  leave  of  the 
white  men,  and  the  party  went  on. 

They  travelled  till  noon,  and  then  stopped  to  dine. 
They  had  scarcely  taken  the  loads  off  the  horses,  be- 
fore nine  Arrapahoe  Indians  came  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  They  came  over  and  encamped 
with  the  travellers  the  rest  of  the  day.    They  had  % 

•  11 


;■'  i 

•   i  'J 


122 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


HI 


JlUI 


I  i 


squaw  with  them,  and  she  built  a  little  wigwam  out  of 
bushes.  She  had  some  cakes,  which  were  flat  and 
black,  and  made  of  fat  and  wild  cherries.  The  white 
men  tasted  them,  and  thought  they  were  good.  The 
Indians  behaved  very  well.  They  did  no  harm,  and 
did  not  steal  the  horses,  nor  anything  else.  In  the 
morning  the  white  men  parted  friends  with  them. 

All  this  country  the  travellers  found  to  be  a  bare 
prairie,  like  that  which  Major  Long  passed  over. 
There  was  no  wood  there,  excepting  along  the  rivers, 
and  even  there,  there  was  but  little. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  the  travellers  saw  a  man  with 
a  spear  in  his  hand,  on  a  hill  at  a  distance.  One  of  the 
men  went  forward  to  see  who  he  was.  Presently  he 
came  in  sight  again,  and  then  a  great  many  more  men, 
no  horseback.  They  rode  towards  the  travellers  so 
swiftly,  that  one  of  the  horses  fell  and  rolled  over  his  ri- 
der, but  the  man  got  up  and  mounted  again.  They  were 
Indians,  and  behaved  strangely.  They  would  not  tell 
who  they  were.  The  white  men  sat  down  under  a 
tree,  and  smoked  with  them,  but  kept  hold  of  their 
guns.  The  people  were  Shiannes,  and  had  been  to 
war  against  the  Pawnees.  The  white  iren  gave  tlie 
Chief  some  tobacco,  and  he  thanked  them.  The  In- 
dians did  not  offer  to  do  any  harm,  and  at  last  the 
travellers  parted  with  them.     i  ...  .,,  -  ? 

The  next  day  they  saw  some  rattlesnakes;  but 
none  of  the  people  were  bitten  by  them.  They  met 
with  buffaloes,  wild  goats,  prairie  dogs,  and  other 
creatures.  In  the  holes  which  the  prairie  dogs  had 
dug,  they  found  little  owls.  On  the  6th  of  the  month, 
their  two  interpreters  left  them,  to  go  to  the  Pawnee 


;  /- 


I! 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


123 


villages  on  the  River  Platte,  where  they  lived.  Now 
the  party  began  to  see  great  multitudes  of  buffaloes, 
so  that  the  ground  was  covered  with  them.  There 
were  wolves  among  these  herds,  great  and  small, 
black,  white  and  grey.  They  were  prowling  about, 
looking  for  some  opportunity  to  seize  upon  the  sick  or 
wounded  buffaloes. 

On  the  1 2th,  the  party  met  some  Teton  Indians. 
These  had  just  been  attacked  by  the  Otoes:  three 
men  had  been  killed,  and  the  rest  had  been  obliged 
to  run  for  their  lives.  They  had  lost  their  horses, 
and  clothes,  and  were  almost  naked.  Some  of  them 
were  wounded.  They  begged  for  some  articles,  for 
they  were  in  great  need :  they  did  no  harm,  and  the 
travellers  bade  them  farewell. 

The  party  went  on  over  prairies  and  rivers,  and 
saw  nothing  but  such  things  as  I  have  already  told 
you  of.  On  the  31st  of  the  month,  three  of  their  sol- 
diers ran  away,  and  they  never  saw  them  again. 
They  took  three  horses  away  with  them,  and  stole 
all  they*  could  carry  off.  Thus  the  travellers  lost 
their  clothes,  their  papers,  and  a  great  many  other 
things. 

On  the  1  st  of  September,  they  met  some  Osages,  and 
were  well  treated  by  them.  They  encamped  togeth- 
er, and  before  they  went  to  sleep,  the  Indians  sang  a 
hymn  to  the  Lord.  The  next  day  the  Osages  prom- 
ised to  go  after  the  runaway  soldiers,  but  they  did  not. 
They  however  gave  the  white  men  as  much  buffalo 
meat  as  they  wanted.  The  Osages  are  a  handsome 
people.  A  great  many  of  them  have  guns,  but  they 
do  not  go  so  much  to  war  as  their  neighbours.  Other- 
wise they  axe  like  the  rest  of  the  Indians. 


1: 


^^J :' 


124 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


II 

; 

■1     if 

If' 
■-■     ■    i 

'  1 ' 

n 

Iff  '   i 
I'M  !' 

ir;i 

1  i 

They  frequently  hunt  wild  horses,  and  take  them 
alive.  They  live  in  bark  wigwams,  and  are  friendly  to 
the  Americans.  However,  they  stole  a  few  trifles  from 
the  travellers.  There  are  three  tribes  of  them :  the 
Chaneers,  the  great  Osages,  and  the  little  Osages. 
Altogether  there  are  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  men  of 
them.  They  live  on  the  Arkansas  and  the  Osage 
Rivers. 

The  explorers  now  left  them,  and  the  next  day  they 
arrived  at  a  white  man's  trading  house  on  the  Verdi- 
gris River.  Here  a  person  told  them  how  to  find  the 
way  to  Fort  Smith  at  Belle  Pointe.  They  left  the 
house,  and  as  they  were  travelling  over  the  prairie, 
they  saw  several  lizards.  These  creatures  were  cov- 
ered with  scales,  and  ran  very  swiftly. 

The  next  day  the  party  came  to  a  place  called 
Bayou  Menard,  where  some  white  men  livet  They 
were  very  glad  to  see  white  men  again,  after  being 
so  long  in  the  prairies,  andseeingno  people  but  Indians. 
While  they  were  eating  their  supper,  one  of  the  chil- 
dren brought  in  a  great  hairy  spider.  It  was  larger 
than  anything  of  the  kind  they  had  ever  seen  before. 
It  had  laid  hold  of  a  stick,  and  would  not  let  it  go ; 
so  the  boy  brought  it,  holding  on  to  the  stick. 

The  next  day  they  reached  Belle  Pointe.  They 
crossed  the  river  in  a  ferry-boat,  and  were  well  re- 
ceived by  the  officers  in  the  garrison.         *'     ,. . 

Here  they  waited  till  Major  Long  arrived,  as  I 
have  told  you  already.  Shortly  after,  the  whole  par- 
ty returned  to  the  United  States ;  and  thus  ended 
their  travels. 


WEST  OF  THE  MlSSISSIPl»l. 


125 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


/ 


JcwltCs  Birth  and  Education. — He  goes  to  Sea. — Jlbout 
Maquina  and  the  JVootkas. 

I  AM  now  going  to  tell  you  the  adventures  of  John 
R.  Jewitt,  which  you  will  find  very  interesting.  lie 
was  taken  by  the  Indians  on  the  Northwest  Coast  of 
America,  and  kept  in  captivity  for  a  long  time.  After 
his  deliverance,  he  wrote  a  book,  from  which  I  have 
extracted  the  following  narrative. 

There  was  once  a  blacksmith  who  lived  at  Boston  in 
England,  named  Edward  Jewitt.  He  had  a  son  named 
John.  Edward  Jewitt  desired  that  his  son  should 
go  to  school  and  get  a  g(  od  education ;  but  nothing 
would  satisfy  the  boy  but  to  be  a  blacksmith  like  his 
father.  At  last  his  father  took  him  into  his  shop,  and 
taught  him  his  own  trade.  Afterwards  the  family 
moved  to  a  famous  seaport  town,  in  England,  called 
Hull.  Here  the  father  and  son  were  engaged  in  doing 
the  iron  work  of  ships,  and  saw  a  good  many  sailors. 
Among  these  was  a  master  of  a  vessel,  named  Salter. 
He  was  an  American,  and  used  to  go  to  the  North- 
west Coast  of  America  to  trade  with  the  Indians 
there.  This  man  talked  much  to  John  Jewitt,  and 
one  day  asked  him  if  he  should  not  like  to  go  to  sea 
with  him.  He  said  he  should,  and  asked  his  father 
to  let  him  go,  but  he  would  not  consent. 

But  Mr  Waiter  reasoned  with  the  blacksmith,  and 
told  him  it  would  be  a  good  plan  for  his  son,  and 
promised  to  take  good  care  of  him,  if  he  would  go. 

IP 


t.  i 


m 
o 


1:3 


ro 


c-3 


6 


a 

o 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


127 


At  last  the  old  man  cDnsented,  and  John  went  on  board 
the  vessel  called  the  Boston,  to  work  at  his  trade,  to 
mend  guns  and  make  knives  and  daggers  for  he  In- 
dians. Mr  Salter  agreed  to  give  him  thirty  dollars  a 
month.  His  father  gave  him  a  bible  and  some  good 
advice,  and  ihe  ship  sailed,  in  September,  eighteen 
himdred  and  two. 

At  first,  young  Jewitt  was  very  seasick,  but  he  soon 
got  over  it,  and  began  to  work  at  his  forge.  The 
vessel  pursued  her  voyage,  and  having  sailed  across 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  Captain  stopped  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil,  to  get  wood  and  water.  In  a  short  time 
they  set  sail,  and  proceeded  along  the  coast  of  South 
America.  They  had  several  storms  and  contrary  winds, 
but  at  length  they  passed  round  Cape  Horn. 

After  sailing  a  long  time  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion along  the  western  shore  of  the  American  continent, 
the  vessel  arrived  at  Woody  Point  at  Nootka  Sound. 
This  place  you  will  find  on  the  map. — It  lies  several 
hundred  miles  to  the  northwest  of  the  spot  where 
Captains  Lewis  and  Clark  spent  the  winter  near  the 
mouth  of  Columbia  River.  The  vessel  arrived  at 
Woody  Point  on  the  12th  of  March,  1803. 

The  voyagers  sailed  up  the  sound,  and  anchored 
five  miles  from  an  Indian  village,  and  sent  on  shore 
for  wood  and  water.  Thoy  dropped  their  anchor 
about  a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  the  next  day  the 
Nootka  Indians  came  to  them  in  canoes.  The  Chief 
was  named  Maquina ;  he  seemed  much  pleased  to  see 
the  white  people.  He  was  a  handsome  man,  six  feet 
high,  and  copper-coloured,  like  all  other  Indians.  His 
legs,  arms  and  face  were  painted  red,  and  his  eyebrows 
wero  painted  black.    His  hair  was  oiled,  and  powdered 


i>  i . 


128 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


with  white  dowL,  He  wore  a  cloak  of  deer-skin  that 
reached  to  his  knees.  It  was  fastened  round  his 
waist  with  a  belt.  The  other  Indians  wore  a  kind  of 
coats  of  cloth  made  of  the  bark  of  trees. 

Maquina  could  speak  a  little  English,  for  he  had 
seen  a  good  many  white  men  before,  that  had  been  to 
Nootka  Sound  to  purchase  furs.  Mr  Salter  gave  him  a 
glass  of  rum,  and  some  bread  and  molasses.  The 
casks  were  sent  on  shore,  for  water,  and  Jewitt  fell 
to  work  at  his  trade.  The  Indians  kept  coming  on 
board  with  a  great  many  fresh  salmon.  Mr  Salter 
allowed  them  to  come  on  board,  but  always  searched 
them  first,  to  see  if  they  had  arms  about  them. 

On  the  15th  of  the  month,  Maquina  came  on  board, 
splendidly  dressed,  with  several  other  chiefs.  Mr  Sal- 
ter invited  them  to  dine  with  him  in  the  cabin.  They 
sat  down  to  dinner  on  the  floor,  with  their  legs  cross- 
ed under  them  like  tailors.  They  were  not  pleased 
with  the  taste  of  salt,  but  they  liked  tea  and  coffee, 
and  were  very  fond  of  bread  and  molasses.  They 
seemed  very  desirous  to  possess  iron  tools,  and  used 
to  crowd  round  Jewitt  while  he  was  at  work,  ^lani- 
festing  much  curiosity  at  his  operations.  Thus  they 
became  acquainted  with  him ;  and  this  afterwards 
saved  his  life,  as  I  shall  tell  you  by  and  by. 

The  Indians  had  at  length  become  quite  familiar 
on  board  the  ship.  One  day  Maquina  told  Mr  Salter 
that  there  was  an  abundance  of  wild  geese  and  ducks 
at  a  cove  which  was  not  far  off.  Mr  Salter  lent  him 
a  two-barrelled  gun,  and  he  went  away  quite  pleased 
with  it.  The  savage  soon  returned  with  his  gun  and 
eighteen  wild  ducks.    He  gave  the  ducks  to  Mr  Salter 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


129 


as  a  present.  At  the  same  time,  he  showed  him  his 
gun,  and  said  it  was  peshaky  which  in  his  language 
means,  had.  He  did  not  well  know  how  to  use  a  gun, 
and  had  broken  the  lock.  Mr  Salter  was  angry  at  this, 
and  spoke  to  Maquina  in  very  harsh  terms.  He  took 
the  gun  out  of  the  Chiers  hand,  and  threw  it  to  Jewitt 
to  be  repaired. 

*  John,'  said  he,  ^  this  fellow  has  broken  this  beautiful 
fowling  piece ;  see  if  you  can  mend  it*  Jewitt  said  he 
thought  he  could.  Now  Maquina  understood  what 
Mr  Salter  had  said,  and  was  very  much  enraged  at  it: 
but  he  said  nothing.  He  stood  still,  and  held  his 
throat  with  his  hand.  This,  he  afterwards  told  Jewitt, 
was  to  keep  his  heart  from  coming  up  and  chok- 
ing him.    Then  he  went  away  with  all  his  men. 


CHAPTFR  XXXIV. 


■fi 


Maquina  takes  the  Ship  and  kills  the  Crew. — Jewitt  is 
wounded  with  an  Axe.  Maquina  sares  Jewitt' s  Life. — 
How  Thompson  is  found  alive,  and  knocks  an  Indian 
doton  with  his  Fist. 


On  the  morning  of  the  22d,  Maquina  came  alongside 
the  ship,  with  a  numerous  party  of  Indians  in  anoes. 
After  they  were  searched,  Mr  Salter  allow  .  them  to 
come  on  board.  Maquina  had  a  wooden  mask  on  his 
face,  so  carved  as  to  look  like  some  ugly  wild  beast. 
He  had  a  whistle  in  his  hand,  and  appeared  to  be  very 
good-natured  and  gay.  He  blew  his  whistle,  while 
his  people  capered  and  danced  about  the  deck, 


130 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


While  Mr  Salter  was  looking  at  the  dance,  Maqui- 
na  went  up  to  him,  and  told  him  there  were  a  great  ma- 
ny salmon  at  Friendly  Cove,  and  asked  him  why  he 
did  not  send  his  men  to  catch  some  of  them.  Mr  Sal- 
ter thought  it  would  be  a  good  plan,  and  after  dinner 
he  sent  the  mate  of  the  vessel  with  nine  men  ashore  for 
the  purpose.  Maquiaa  and  the  chiefs  staid  and  dined 
on  board.  w  .      ;  »- 

After  the  boat  was  gone  ashore,  Jewitt  went  down 
below  the  deck,  and  was  busily  employed  in  cleanir.^ 
the  guns.  After  he  had  been  there  about  an  hour,  he 
heard  them  hoisting  the  boat  on  board,  and  directly 
after,  he  heard  a  great  noise  on  deck.  He  looked  out 
to  see  what  was  the  matter.  One  of  the  Indians 
caught  him  by  the  hair,  and  tried  to  pull  him  up  on 
deck ;  but  he  fell,  and  as  he  was  falling,  the  Indian 
struck  at  him  with  an  axe,  and  cut  a  gash  in  his  fore- 
head. 

He  was  stunned  by  the  blow,  but  when  he  came  to 
himself  he  heard  three  loud  yells  on  the  deck.  He 
knew  by  this  that  the  Indians  had  taken  possession  of 
the  ship.  They  were  now  going  to  kill  Jewitt,  but  Ma- 
quiaa  prevented  them.  He  told  his  people  to  keep  him 
alive  to  make  knives,  and  mend  gims  for  them.  At 
length,  the  hatch  was  opened,  and  Maquina  called 
Jewitt  up  on  deck.  When  he  came  up,  he  was  al- 
most blinded  by  the  blood  that  had  flowed  into  his 
eyes.  So  the  Chief  got  some  water,  and  made  one  of 
the  Indians  wash  out  the  blood. 

Six  Indians  now  came  rounu  the  poor  blacksmith, 
with  knives  in  their  hands.  Then  Maquina  asked 
him  if  he  would  be  his  slave  all  his  life  ?  and  he  said 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


131 


he  would.  Then  he  asked  him  if  he  would  fight  for 
him  in  war — and  mend  guns  and  make  knives  for  him  ? 
and  Jewitt  said  he  would  do  all  these  things.  This  he 
did  to  save  his  life  ;  for  if  he  had  not  promised  obedi- 
ence, the  Indians  who  were  around  hiin,  would  have 
killed  him  on  the  spot.  He  was  very  cold,  and  the 
chief  gave  him  a  great  coat ;  he  also  handed  him  a 
bottle  of  rum,  and  made  him  drink  some  of  it.  Then 
he  took  Jewitt  to  the  after  part  of  the  ship,  and  there 
iihowed  him  the  heads  of  Mr  Salter  and  the  crew. 

The  Indians  had  severed  them  from  their  bodies,  and 
ranged  them  in  a  line.  There  were  twentyfive  of  them 
all.  The  deck  of  the  vessel  was  stained  with  blood. 
After  showing  him  this  dreadful  spectacle,  Maquina 
tied  a  tobacco  leaf  over  Jewitt's  wound,  and  then  told 
him  to  run  the  ship  on  shore.  The  latter  cut  the  ca- 
bles, and  sent  the  Indians  to  loose  the  sails.  Then 
with  some  trouble  he  ran  her  on  shore  on  a  sandy 
beach  close  to  the  Indian  village.  The  men,  women 
and  children  all  got  on  the  roofs  of  their  wigwams  to 
welcome  Maquina.  They  bawled  and  yelled  in  a  ve- 
ry boisterous  manner.  The  Chief  took  Jewitt  to  his 
own  wigwam,  and  the  women  patted  him  on  the 
head,  and  made  much  of  him.  But  the  men  wished  to 
take  his  life.  Maquina  however  told  them  he  had 
promised  to  save  him,  and  he  would  not  violate  his 
word. 

Maquina's  little  boy  now  came  up  to  Jewitt,  and  he 
took  him  up  on  his  knee,  and  cut  the  buttons  off 
his  coat  and  gave  them  to  the  child.  The  Chief  was 
much  pleased  with  this,  and  told  Jewitt  to  sleep  next 
to  him,  for  fear  the  Indians  would  kill  him.    In  the 


132 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


night  one  of  the  Indians  came  to  tell  Maquina  that 
one  of  the  white  men  was  alive  on  board  the  ship. 

He  said  that  he  had  been  on  board,  and  the  white 
man  met  him  and  knocked  him  down  with  his  fist. 
Maquina  answered,  that  in  the  morning  he  would  go 
and  kill  him.  It  now  came  into  Jewitt's  mind,  that  he 
had  not  observed  the  head  of  Thompson  the  sail  ma- 
ker among  those  he  had  seen  on  deck.  In  the  morn- 
ing Maquina  rose  to  go  to  the  ship.  Jewitt  went 
down  to  the  beach,  where  he  found  all  the  Indians  as- 
sembled ;  they  were  going  on  board  to  kill  Thomp- 
son. Then  Jewitt  pointed  to  Maquina's  boy,  and  ask- 
ed the  Chief  if  he  loved  him.  He  said  he  did.  He 
then  asked  the  boy  if  he  loved  his  father,  and  he  said 
yes.  *Then,'  said  Jewitt,  *I  love  mine.'  And  he 
threw  himself  at  Maquina's  feet,  and  said  the  man  on 
board  might  be  his  father. 

He  told  Maquina  if  he  killed  his  father,  he  should 
die  of  grief;  and  then  he  could  not  labor  for  him.  At 
last  the  Chief  said  that  if  the  man  should  prove  to  be 
Jewitt's  father,  he  should  not  be  killed.  So  Jewitt 
went  on  board  alone,  and  found  that  it  was  indeed 
Thompson.  When  the  Indians  fell  upon  the  crew, 
this  man  had  hid  himself.  Jewitt  told  him  what  to 
say,  and  then  took  him  on  shore,  and  pretended  to 
Maquina  that  he  was  his  father.  So  the  life  of 
Thompson  was  spared. 


if ,  - 


'..■  .1.)    .'<    r)l    hjI 


v  .    i 


f:^.,  .<     K10  kv'-  K'^^W^'  ^'■:01    -■',-■:      ^M    '•','• 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


133 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Two    Ships  come  to   Nootka. — Strange    Visiters. — How 

Maquina  treated  them. — How  the  Ship  was  burned. — 

How  the  Indians  all  got  drunk. — How  Jewitt  worked 

for  the  Indians. — Why  Maquina    was  going  to  kill 

Thompson. — How  Thompson  behaved. 

Jewitt  now  told  Maquina  that  his  father  would  make 
sails  for  his  canoe ;  so  the  chief  took  them  both  home, 
and  gave  them  something  to  eat  The  Indians  took 
everything  out  of  the  ship  and  carried  them  to  Ma- 
quina's  house  ;  Jewitt,  however,  got  possession  of  a 
bible,  and  some  Dooks  and  papen  He  intended  to 
keep  a  journal  of  what  happtned  to  him,  and  the  pa- 
per was  therefore  very  important  Shortly  after  this, 
two  ships  were  seen  coming  toward  the  shore ;  at  this 
the  Indians  were  very  much  alarmed.  They  howev- 
er got  their  guns  and  fired  at  the  ships.  The  people 
in  them  fired  back  again,  without  doing  any  harm,  and 
then  sailed  away. 

A  few  days  after,  a  great  many  canoes  full  of  In- 
dians came  to  Maquina's  village.  There  were  the 
Wickanninnish,  Klaooquates,  and  several  other  tribes, 
with  hard  names.  Their  canoes  had  sails  as  well 
as  paddles.  Maquina  was  very  proud  of  the  things 
he  had  taken  from  the  ship,  and  showed  them  to  his 
visiters  with  much  ostentation.  He  also  had  the 
cannon  loaded,  and  gave  all  his  men  guns.  The  In- 
dians of  the  village  were  dressed  in  the  clothes  of 
the  men  they  had  killed. 

12 


i 


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■■iiJi^^: 


««:-< 


'n  >»■{«>••» 


si-'  '^di-'l^-'h 


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J>.;: 


■«^:'^4. 


■  i7A?;(,'«. >,,!;> 


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..ijtu   5  ■<^!^.i(iHV*  rn 


1^:  /ioiJi' 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


135 


When  all  was  ready,  Maquina  gave  the  word,  and 
they  discharged  their  guns.  Thompson  fired  the  can- 
non. The  report  of  the  cannon  seened  to  astonish 
the  Indians  ;  for  when  they  heard  i'c,  they  all  tumbled 
over  and  rolled  in  the  dirt.  But  they  soon  got  up 
again,  and  ran  about,  and  boasted  of  what  they  had 
done.  When  this  was  ov.",  Maquina  invited  the 
strangers  to  a  feast.  He  gave  them  whale  blubber, 
herring-spawn,  smoked  and  dried  fish,  and  train  oil. 
After  this  Maquina's  boy  danced  for  the  amusement 
of  the  company.  They  were  all  very  much  pleased 
with  his  dancing.  Then  Maquina  gave  presents  to 
the  strangers.  He  gave  them  cloth  and  guns  and  many 
other  articles.  The  next  day  the  ship  was  set  on 
fire  by  accident  and  entirely  consumed.  One  of  the 
Indians  had  gone  into  her  with  a  fire-brand,  and  some 
sparks  set  her  in  flames.  But  Jewitt  had  previously 
taken  out  all  the  blacksmith's  tools,  some  wine,  and 
some  chocolate. 

Two  days  afterwards,  as  they  were  examining  their 
plunder,  the  Indians  found  a  cask  of  rum,  and  they  all 
got  drunk.  They  became  so  wild  that  Jewitt  and 
Thompson  thought  tliey  should  both  be  killed.  To 
avoid  the  danger,  they  hid  themselves  in  the  woods 
till  midnight.  When  they  came  back,  they  found  all 
the  men  asleep  on  the  ground.  The  women  had  also 
been  frightened,  and  had  prudently  concealed  them- 
selves. , 

After  a  while  the  wound  in  Jewitt's  head  began 
to  heal ;  and  he  worked  for  Maquina,  making  brace- 
lets and  ear-rings  for  his  wife.  ' 

In  the  mean  while  great  numbers  of  strangers  kept 
flocking  to  Nootka  to  see  Maquina  and  his  plunder. 


♦JC 


4' 

f 


136 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


.  In  a  short  time  they  had  eaten  up  all  the  provisions 
of  the  ship,  and  after  that,  Jewitt  and  Thompson  were 
obliged  to  eat  train  oil,  and  such  things  as  the  In- 
dians themselves  ate.  They  did  not  like  this,  but 
they  must  eat  or  starve.  The  Indians  had  a  strange 
aversion  to  Thompson,  and  he  would  have  starved  if 
Jewitt  had  not  fed  him.  .-.? ,, 

/  Maquina  gave  Jewitt  leave  to  make  articles,  and 
sell  them  for  food.  He  made  fish-hooks,  and  rings, 
and  daggers,  and  sold  them  to  the  visiters  for  fish. 
When  he  made  anything  for  Maquina's  people,  they 
would  give  him  something,  and  he  always  shared  it 
with  Thompson.  Thompson  made  clothes  for  them 
both.  They  were  not  allowed  to  cook  their  victuals 
themselves  in  their  own  way.  One  day  Maquina 
found  the  white  men  making  salt  by  the  sea  side ; 
he  took  it  away  from  them,  and  threw  it  into  the 
water. 

Afler  his  wound  got  well,  Jewitt  began  to  keep  a 
journal.  He  had  no  ink,  but  Thompson  cut  his  fin- 
ger and  Jewitt  wrote  with  the  blood.  Afler  a  while 
he  made  a  kind  of  ink  with  blackberry  juice  and  char- 
coal. There  was  no  lack  of  quills,  for  there  were 
large  birds  in  that  country,  so  tame  and  plentiful  that 
he  easily  killed  numbers  of  them  with  stones.  ^^ 

Thompson  had  been  at  sea  all  his  life.  He  was  a 
strong  and  brave  man,  but  he  had  a  rough  temper. 
One  night  he  was  lighting  the  lamps  in  Maquina's 
house,  and  the  children  pulled  him  about,  and  made 
him  spill  the  oil.  This  made  him  angry,  and  he  struck 
the  Chiers  son.  Maquina  seized  a  gun,  and  was  on 
the  point  of  shooting  him.    Thompson  bared  his  breast 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


137 


and  dared  him  to  fire.  He  would  certainly  have  been 
killed,  if  Jewitt  had  not  interfered  and  begged  his 
life  of  Maquina. 

But  it  was  a  long  time  before  Maquina  forgave 
Thompson.  He  often  told  Jewitt  that  if  he,  Jewitt, 
should  die,  he  would  Idll  Thompson  directly  after. 
All  the  Indians  wanted  to  destroy  him  for  striking  the 
young  Chief.  But  Jewitt  told  Maquina  that  if  his  fa- 
ther was  put  to  death,  he  would  not  live  himself. 
Maquina  did  not  like  to  lose  Jewitt,  for  he  was  very 
useful  to  him,  and  so  he  let  Thompson  live. 

All  this  did  not  frighten  Thompson,  for  soon  after  he 
struck  the  son  of  another  chief.  The  Indians  were 
eager  to  kill  him,  but  Maquina  would  not  consent. 
Thompson  said  he  hated  the  Indians,  and  he  showed 
them  that  he  did  by  all  his  looks  and  actions.  He 
declared  that  he  would  rather  die  than  live  among 
them,  so  he  did  not  care  if  they  did  kill  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


Jewitt  endeavours  to  please  the  Indians. — Description  of  the 
Nootkas  and  other  Indians. — How  they  left  their  Vil- 
lage.— Mbout  Maquina^ s  new  Coat. 


>V^V«^P 


Jewitt  was  not  so  tired  of  life  as  Thompson.  He 
did  all  he  could  to  please  the  Indians,  and  a  good 
many  of  them  liked  him.  He  made  little  toys  for  the 
squaws  and  children,  and  fish-hooks  and  daggers  for 
the  men.    He  learned  their  language,  and  talked  with 

12^ 


138 


TALEB  OF  TRAVELS 


them.  He  advised  Thompson  to  learn  it  too ;  but  he 
replied,  that  he  hated  the  Indians  and  their  language, 
and  would  not  learn  it.  -  • 

The  houses  of  the  Nootkas  were  built  with  posts, 
poles  and  planks,  and  several  families  lived  in  each  of 
them.  The  fire  was  mado  in  the  middle,  and  the 
smoke  went  out  through  the  roof.  They  had  not 
much  furniture ;  some  boxes  to  put  their  clothes  in, 
tubs  to  contain  spawn  and  blubber,  wooden  dishes, 
baskets  and  bags  were  the  principal  articles. 

These  people  manufacture  a  kind  of  cloth  from 
bark,  and  wear  but  one  garment,  which  is  a  loose  cloak 
tied  over  their  shoulders  so  as  to  leave  their  arms  at 
liberty.  Sometimes  their  cloaks  are  made  of  otter 
skin ;  the  men  wear  belts  with  knives  and  daggers 
stuck  in  them.  When  they  go  out  to  fish,  they  wear 
a  kind  of  hat  made  of  bark,  and  ornamented  with 
beads  and  little  shells.  ' 

They  eat  fish,  spawn,  blubber,  seals,  muscles, 
clams,  and  many  sorts  of  berries.  All  their  cookery 
is  done  by  boiling.  This  is  performed  by  putting  hot 
stones  into  the  water.  When  they  eat,  they  sit  cross- 
legged  on  the  ground  with  their  wooden  bowls  before 
them.  They  do  not  use  knives  nor  forks,  but  eat  with 
their  fingers,  five  or  six  of  them,  out  of  one  bowl. 

The  Nootka  Indians  are  a  well  made  people,  ex- 
cepting their  legs  and  feet  Their  legs  are  rendered 
crooked  by  their  manner  of  sitting.  Jewitt  saw  one 
man  among  them  who  was  thirty  years  of  age,  and 
only  three  feet  and  three  inches  high.  They  have 
all  good  teeth,  but  the  men  have  neither  beard  nor 
whiskers. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


139 


The  women  are  neater  and  cleaner  than  the  men. 
They  wear  clothes  extending  from  their  necks  down 
to  their  feet.  They  paint  their  eyebrows  black,  and 
draw  a  red  line  from  the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  tlie 
ear.  They  wear  ear-rings,  and  decorate  their  ancles 
with  bracelets.  Many  of  them  have  ornaments  sus- 
pended from  their  noses.  Some  of  these  women 
Jewitt  thought  quite  handsome. 

The  most  remarkable  fashion  among  these  people 
appears  to  be  that  of  wearing  sticks  two  feet  long 
thrust  through  the  gristle  of  the  nose  and  extending 
across  the  face.  Thompson,  who  lost  no  opportunity 
of  venting  his  spleen,  used  often  to  hit  these  sticks  a 
sly  knock,  which  of  course  gave  the  wearers  no  small 
degree  of  pain. 

The  Nootkas  are  not  great  hunters.  They  appear 
only  to  shoot  seals  and  sea  otters.  But  no  people  in 
the  world  are  better  fishermen.  Their  lines  are 
made  of  whale's  sinews  and  are  very  strong.  Before 
Jewitt  came,  their  hooks  were  made  of  wood  and 
bone,  but  he  manufactured  iron  ones  that  they  liked 
better. 

They  have  harpoons,  pointed  with  bone  and  shells, 
with  which  they  kill  whales.  They  blow  up  a 
seal's  skin  like  a  bladder,  and  tie  it  to  the  harpoon 
with  a  long  rope:  so  when  the  whale  is  struck  he 
drags  the  seal  skin  after  him,  which  floats  on  the 
water,  and  shows  the  Indians  where  he  is.  They  cut 
down  trees,  and  make  canoes  with  chisels.  They 
sing  as  they  paddle  along,  and  some  of  their  songs 
Jewitt  thought  very  pretty. 

The  chiefs  make  slaves  of  all  the  prisoners  they 


.1 


VA 


i! 


El 


140 


TALES  OF  TB.AVELS 


take  in  war ;  but  they  are  not  badly  treated.  They  are 
made  to  work,  and  that  is  all.  Maquina  had  fifty  of 
them.  There  were  about  f.ve  hundred  meA  of  the 
Nootkas.  The  other  Indians  in  the  neighb  :)urhood 
resemble  the  Nootkas,  and  live  in  a  similar  manner. 
Some  of  them,  however,  have  their  tieadn  flattened  like 
those  Lewis  and  Clark  saw. 

When  any  of  these  people  pay  a  visit  at  a  distance, 
they  stop  before  they  get  to  the  place  where  they  are 
going,  and  panit  themselves,  fix  their  hair,  and  put  on 
their  best  clothes.  When  they  get  to  a  village,  the 
Chief  first  buys  whatht^  wants  of  tlie  people,  and  then 
the  rest  are  allowed  to  trade.  But  they  have  to  watch 
their  property  closely,  for  all  the  Indians  of  the  North- 
west coast  are  great  thieves. 

The  people  of  these  various  tribes  always  wear 
daggers ;  the  Chiefs  have  in  addition  a  war-club 
called  a  cheeltooth :;  this  is  very  heavy,  and  is  made 
of  the  bone  of  a  whale.  Some  of  the  men  have  bows 
and  arrows,  but  they  like  guns  better.  The  Chiefs 
are  occasionally  armed  with  spears. 

Jewitt  and  Thompson  used  to  go  on  Sunday  to  a 
pond  in  the  woods  to  wash  themselves,  and  prpy  and 
read  their  bible.  Maquina  suffered  them  to  do  so. 
In  July  a  ship  was  seen  off  at  sea,  but  it  did  not  come 
to  the  shore.  Some  of  the  stranger  Indians  that  came 
to  see  Maquina  offered  to  help  Jewitt  to  run  away, 
but  their  real  design  was  to  make  a  slave  of  him  for 
themselves. 

In  September  all  the  Nootkas  departed  in  their 
canoes,  to  go  to  another  place.  They  were  going  to 
be  absent  the  whole  winter ;  so  tliey  took  all  their 


'\, 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


141 


baggage  with  them.  As  soon  as  the)'  reached  the 
spot  where  they  designed  to  stay,  they  fell  to  work, 
and  built  houses  for  the  winter.  This  was  done  in  a 
short  time,  for  Indian  houses  are  not  like  ours.  Here 
they  caught  a  vast  quantity  of  salmon  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  the  Indians  on  Columbia  River  take 
them.  They  feasted  and  made  merry,  and  Jewitt 
was  kindly  treated  and  allowed  to  go  fishing  and 
hunting.  He  shot  a  great  many  wild  ducks.  But  on 
Sunday  he  always  went  into  the  woods  with  Thomp- 
son to  pray. 

One  day  Maquina  saw  Jewitt  writing  in  his  journal. 
The  chief  asked  him  what  he  was  doing,  and  Jewitt 
said  he  was  keeping  an  account  He  would  not  be- 
lieve Jewitt.  He  thought  he  was  writing  about  the 
destruction  of  the  ship  and  the  massacre  of  the  crew. 
He  said  if  he  caught  him  writing  again,  he  would 
burn  the  book. 

A  little  while  after,  Jewitt  made  an  iron  cheeltooth 
and  some  daggers  for  Maquina.  He  was  much 
pleased  with  these  things,  and  gave  Jewitt  some 
clothes.  Thompson  too  made  the  Chief  a  suit  of 
clothes,  and  some  sails  for  his  canoe.  The  clothes 
were  patch- work  of  different  colors,  and  were  covered 
with  bright  buttons.  Maquina  was  greatly  delighted. 
He  strutted  up  and  down,  saying,  *  Fine  clothes,  fine 
clothes :  Nootka  cannot  make  such  things.' 


1    «i 


142 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


CHAPTER  XXXVIL 


Ho2D  the  JVootkas  catch  Bears. — ^  religious  Ceremony. — 
The  JVootkas  remove. — ji  great  Feast. — About  a  crazy 
Chief. — How  he  was  whijjpcd. — Jewitt  makes  a  Har- 
poon for  Maquiruij  and  becomes  a  Man  of  Consequence. 

Maquina  ofton  told  Jewitt  that  if  be  ran  away,  he 
would  catch  him  again  and  kill  him.  He  said  that 
some  white  prisoners  had  run  away  from  him  before, 
but  he  caught  them  again.  He  had  them  suffocated 
by  forcing  stones  down  their  throats.  He  said  he 
had  been  robbed,  and  some  of  his  people  had  been 
killed  by  white  men  some  years  before,  and  this  was 
the  reason  why  he  killed  Mr  Salter  and  his  men. 

In  December  the  people  caught  a  I  x  in  a  trap. 
Now  if  they  eat  bear's  flesh,  they  think  uiey  must  not 
eat  any  fresh  fish  for  two  months.  So  not  more  than 
ten  of  them  tasted  of  this  bear.  After  the  bear  was 
caught  they  brought  it  into  Maquina's  house,  and  set 
it  upright  and  put  a  cap  on  its  head.  Then  they  put 
victuals  before  it,  and  invited  it  to  eat,  though  it  was 
dead.    Then  they  cut  it  up,  and  cooked  it. 

A  few  days  after  they  caught  another  bear,  and 
Jewitt  went  to  see  the  trap.  It  was  like  a  little  wig- 
wam, the  roof  being  covered  with  stones.  The  roof 
was  supported  by  a  post.  A  fresh  salmon  was  tied  to 
the  post.  When  the  bear  tried  to  get  the  salmon,  he 
pulled  the  post  away,  and  the  stones  fell  on  his  head, 
and  killed  him. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


143 


On  the  13th  of  December,  Maquina  fired  a  pistol 
close  to  his  son's  ear.  The  boy  fell  down,  and  the 
squaws  began  to  cry  aloud  and  tear  their  hair.  Then 
some  of  the  men  came  running  into  the  house.  Two 
of  them  were  dressed  in  wolf  skins,  and  had  masks 
on  their  faces.  They  took  the  boy  up  and  carried 
him  out.  Then  Maquina  gave  Jewitt  and  Thompson 
some  victuals,  and  commanded  them  to  go  and  stay 
in  the  woods  seven  days.  If  they  came  back  sooner, 
he  told  them  they  should  be  killed. 

The  firing  of  the  pistol  was  the  commencement  of 
some  religious  ceremonies  which  the  Indians  were 
about  to  perform,  and  which  they  were  unwilling 
that  the  white  men  should  witness;  for  this  reason 
they  were  sent  away.  At  the  end  of  seven  days 
Jewitt  and  Thompson  returned.  The  ceremonies  end- 
ed the  day  after.  They  saw  two  men  walk  back- 
wards and  forwards  with  bayonets  run  through  their 
fiesh,  singing,  and  exulting  in  their  own  bravery. 

On  the  last  of  December,  the  Nootkas  moved  to 
another  place  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  winter.  Here 
they  built  houses  again,  and  caught  plenty  of  herring 
and  sprats.  The  first  snow  fell  on  New  Year's  day. 
On  the  7th  of  January  Maquina  went  to  visit  the  Ait- 
tizzarts,  and  took  Jewitt  with  him.  He  was  received 
with  great  respect,  and  the  Aittizzarts  fired  a  salute. 
,  These  Indians  were  not  accustomed  to  see  white 
men,  and  they  thought  Jewitt  a  great  curiosity. 
They  examined  his  legs  and  arms,  and  opened  his 
mouth  to  sec  if  he  had  a  tongue.  Jewitt  was  silent 
till  Maquina  told  him  to  speak.  He  then  spoke  to 
them,  and  they  seemed  pleased.  They  did  not  like 
liis  clothes,  and  wished  him  to  throw  them  away 


I 


144 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


Then  Maquina  told  the  Chief  how  he  had  taken 
the  ship  and  killed  the  crew.  After  this  the  people 
brought  in  bowls  of  herring  spawn,  and  they  had  a 
feast.  To  please  Maquina,  some  of  the  Aittizzarts 
danced  with  arrows  stuck  through  their  arms,  and 
then  Maquina  returned  to  his  own  people. 

In  the  beginning  of  February,  Maquina  invited  all 
the  neighbouring  Indians  to  a  feast :  the  quantity  of 
fish  they  devoured  was  prodigious.  More  than  a 
hundred  salmon  were  cooked  in  one  tub. 
'  On  the  25th,  the  Nootkas  returned  to  Nootka, 
where  they  first  came  from.  Not  long  after  this,  Ma- 
quina's  nephew  died. 

As  soon  as  he  was  dead,  the  Indians  began  to  cry 
aloud.  The  next  morning  a  great  fire  was  made,  and 
Maquina  burned  some  valuable  things  to  show  his  sor- 
row. The  boy  was  the  son  of  a  chief,  and  was  there- 
fore considered  a  chief  himself.  None  but  chiefs 
have  anything  burned  for  them.  The  father  of  this 
boy  had  been  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  murder  of 
Mr  Salter  and  his  men.  He  was  now  crazy,  and 
thought  he  saw  the  men  he  had  killed  always  stand- 
ing before  him. 

He  had  killed  two  men,  named  Hall  and  Wood,  on 
board  the  ship.  When  the  Indians  wanted  him  to 
eat,  he  said  that  Hall  and  Wood  would  not  let  him. 
Maquina  asked  Jewitt  what  was  proper  to  cure  him, 
and  what  white  men  did  in  such  cases.  Jewitt  told 
him  that  the  whites  whipped  crazy  people  to  cure  them. 
So  the  crazy  Indian  was  tied  up  and  whipped  severe- 
ly, but  it  did  him  no  good.  All  the  while  they  were 
flogging  him,  he  kicked  and  tried  to  bite. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


145 


The  insanity  of  this  man  made  the  Indians  afraid 
to  hurt  Jewitt  and  Thompson.  They  thought  that 
God  had  punished  this  chief  for  killing  Wood  and 
Hall,  and  that  if  they  should  kill  Jewitt  and  Thomp- 
son they  would  all  be  crazy  too. 

Maquina  now  went  out  to  catch  whales,  but  he  had 
bad  luck,  and  caught  none.  This  made  him  very  sad 
and  angry.  So  Jewitt  made  him  an  iron  harpoon,  and 
the  very  next  day  he  killed  a  whale  with  it.  The  In- 
dians praised  Jewitt  highly  for  making  the  harpoon, 
and  they  gave  him  some  of  the  blubber.  He  boiled 
it  with  greens,  and  found  it  tolerably  good. 

The  other  chiefs  now  desired  Jewitt  to  make  har- 
poons for  them.  But  Maquina  would  not  suffer  it. 
He  wanted  the  best  harpoon  for  himself,  and  would 
not  let  the  others  have  any  like  it.  He  commanded 
Jewitt  to  make  him  several  more,  and  some  spears  al- 
so. Jewitt  was  now  a  man  of  great  consequence,  for 
he  could  be  very  useful  to  the  Indians ;  particularly  by 
enabling  them  to  catch  whales,  which  is  a  matter 
of  great  importance  among  them.  They  therefore 
treated  him  with  much  more  respect  than  before. 


itl 


13 


^ 


o 


o 


I 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


147 


CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

The  crazy  Chief  dies. — Maquina  makes  War  upon  the  Jiy- 
charts. — The  neighbour ing  Chiefs  try  to  buy  Jeicitt. — 
How  the  Indians  were  frightened  by  an  Eclipse  of  Uie 
Moon. 


Lv  June,  the  crazy  Chief  died,  and  all  the  Indians 
cried  and  howled  for  three  hours.  They  laid  the  body 
on  a  plank,  and  tied  a  red  bandage  round  the  head. 
Then  they  wrapped  it  up  in  an  otter  skin  cloak,  and 
put  it  into  a  box.  They  put  some  food  and  other 
things  in  the  box,  for  they  thought  the  Chief  could 
use  them  in  the  next  world.  Eight  men  carried  the 
coffin  to  a  cave  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  and  there  they 
left  it.    Then  they  went  back  to  Maquina's  house. 

After  this,  some  valuable  things  were  burned,  and 
the  people  poured  oil  on  the  fire,  to  make  it  burn 
brighter.  Then  there  was  a  feast,  and  Maquina's  boy 
danced.  There  was  also  an  Indian  who  amused  the 
people  with  strange  tricks.  They  all  laughed  except 
Thompson;  he  hated  the  Indian  juggler,  and  would 
not  laugh. 

He  abused  the  fellow  with  harsh  terms,  and  called 
him  a  fooL  Jewitt,  on  the  contrary,  laughed  with  the 
rest.  This  led  Maquina  to  remark  that  Jewitt's  moth- 
er must  have  been  a  very  good-natured  woman,  since 
his  father  was  so  bad  tempered. 

In  July,  Maquina  told  Jewitt  that  he  was  going  to 
war  with  the  Aycharts.  He  commanded  him  therefore 
to  make  some  daggers  for  the  men,  and  cheeltooths  for 


148 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


the  chiefs.  This  Jewitt  did.  Before  they  set  out 
on  their  expedition,  the  Indians  washed  themselves 
five  or  six  times  a  day ;  and  they  scrubbed  their  flesh 
with  sand  and  briars,  until  they  were  quite  bloody. 

Maquina  now  told  Jewitt  and  Thompson  that  he 
would  take  them  with  him.  He  wanted  them  to  scrub 
and  scratch  themselves  as  the  Indians  had  done.  He 
said  it  would  make  their  skins  so  hard  that  the  enemy 
could  not  stab  them.    But  they  would  not  do  it. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  Indians  set  out  in  forty 
canoes ; — there  were  in  some  of  them  ten  or  even 
twenty  men.  Jewitt  and  Thompson  had  swords  and 
pistols,  but  the  Indians  only  took  daggers,  cheel- 
tooths,  and  bows  and  arrows,  though  they  had  plenty 
of  guns  at  home.  Their  arrows  were  a  yard  long, 
pointed  with  pieces  of  copper,  bones,  or  muscle  shells. 
The  bows  were  four  feet  and  a  half  long,  and  the 
strings  were  made  of  whales'  sinews. 

The  warriors  sailed  up  a  river  thirty  miles,  and 
came  near  the  Aychart  village  in  the  night.  It  was 
situated  on  a  steep  hill.  Maquina  commanded  them 
all  to  keep  quiet  till  day-break,  for  that  is  the  time 
when  people  sleep  soundest.  When  all  was  ready, 
the  Indians  crept  up  the  hill,  and  entered  the  houses  of 
the  enemy  without  making  any  noise.  Jewitt  and 
Thompson  remained  outside  to  catch  those  who  might 
attempt  to  run  away.  Maquina  at  length  gave  the 
warwhoop,  and  his  people  fell  upon  the  Aycharts, 

Most  of  them  were  killed.  Some  were  taken  pris- 
oners, and  a  few  escaped.  After  a  while  the  war 
party  returned  to  Nootka,  and  had  a  feast  with  great 
rejoicings. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


149 


About  this  time,  many  of  the  neighbouring  chiefs 
wanted  to  buy  Jewitt  of  Maquina.  The  Chief  of  the 
Wickinninnish  came  with  four  canoes  and  a  great 
many  men  to  purchase  the  blacksmith.  He  offered 
four  slaves,  two  beautiful  canoes,  a  great  many  skins, 
some  cloth,  and  other  things,  for  him.  But  Maquina 
would  not  part  with  him. 

The  Chief  of  the  Klaizzarts  also  wanted  to  buy 
him,  but  Maquina  still  refused  to  sell  him.  This 
Chief  was  kind  to  Jewitt.  He  understood  a  few  En- 
glish words,  and  Jewitt  and  he  had  some  conversa- 
tion together.  The  Chief  told  Jewitt  that  if  he  could 
persuade  Maquina  to  part  with  him,  he  would  put 
him  aboard  the  first  ship  that  came  to  the  coast,  and 
send  him  home.  Jewitt  wrote  a  letter,  telling  where 
he  was,  and  how  he  was  treated,  and  gave  it  to  this 
jnan,  desiring  him  to  give  it  to  the  first  master  of  a  ship 
that  came  to  the  coast  This  the  Chief  promised 
faithfully  to  do. 

In  the  fall,  the  whole  tribe  jemoved  to  the  place 
where  they  had  been  the  year  before  to  pass  the  winter. 
A  few  days  after,  one  of  the  Indians,  who  had  lately 
heen  married,  got  angry  with  his  wife.  The  savage 
bit  off  her  nose,  that  she  might  never  get  another  hus- 
band, and  sent  her  back  to  her  father*  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  that  the  Nootkas  appear  not  to  be  kind  to  their 
wives. 

On  the  15th  of  January  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the 
moon.  The  Indians  were  frightened,  and  tliey  light- 
ed torches,  and  sang,  and  drummed,  and  made  all  the 
noise  they  could.  Jewitt  aykcd  them  wliat  they  did 
this  for.     They   pointed  ni  the  ukkui,  and  told  liim 

13^ 


150 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


that  a  great  cod-fish  was  trying  to  swallow  it,  and 
they  were  shouting  to  scare  the  fish  away.  In  Feb- 
ruary the  tribe  again  returned  to  Nootka. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

^further  Description  of  the  Kootkas^  their  Manners  and 
Customs. — About  the  Climate. — A  Ship  arrives  at  JVoot- 
ka. — Maquina  goes  to  it  with  a  Letter  from  Jewitt. 

I  WILL  now  tell  you  a  little  more  about  the  singular 
people  with  whom  it  was  poor  Jewitt's  fortune  to  be  a 
slave  for  many  months. 

The  Nootkas  have  one  great  chief  and  several  in- 
ferior ones.  When  the  great  chief  dies,  liis  son  suc- 
ceeds him.  If  he  has  no  son  his  oldest  brother  be- 
comes Chief.  The  chiefs  are  always  seated  at  feasts 
in  the  best  places,  and  wear  finer  clothes  than  the 
common  people.  The  great  Chief  is  always  the  Gene- 
ral when  they  go  to  war;  and  the  men  do  pretty 
much  as  he  says.  However,  he  cannot  take  their 
property,  and  they  do  not  support  him.  He  fishes  for 
his  living,  like  any  other  man. 

He  and  the  other  chiefs  possess  slaves,  but  the 
common  people  are  not  allowed  to  have  any.  He  has 
everything  that  is  taken  in  war  for  himself,  and  does 
what  he  pleases  with  it.  He  makes  a  good  many 
feasts,  and  when  he  has  plenty  of  victuals  he  invites 
the  people  to  come  and  eat  them.  If  he  did  not  do 
would 


they 


say 


stingy,  and  despif 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


151 


The  Nootkas  believe  in  a  God,  whom  they  call 
Cluahootze.  They  think  he  sends  them  fish,  and  takes 
care  of  them.  When  they  pray  to  him,  they  some- 
times go  into  the  water,  and  sometimes  into  the 
woods.  The  women  always  go  into  the  woods  to 
pray.  When  they  come  back  from  prayers,  they  are 
sad  and  melancholy.  They  do  not  believe  they  shall 
live  in  another  world;  they  think  that  when  they 
die,  there  is  an  end  of  them.  They  do  not  believe  in 
ghosts,  and  have  no  priests  among  them. 

They  are  generally  kind  to  each  other,  and  are 
very  good-natured.  They  seldom  quarrel ;  but  when 
they  are  offended  they  seem  to  be  in  a  violent  rage. 
They  foam  at  the  mouth  like  dogs,  and  kick  and  spit. 
But  this  is  only  grimace.  They  act  in  the  same  way 
when  they  make  speeches  ;  and  he  who  bawls  the  loud- 
est, and  stamps  and  spits  the  most,  is  thought  to  be 
the  best  speaker. 

At  Nootka  the  weather  is  very  pleasant  in  spring, 
summer,  and  autumn,  and  the  winter  is  not  very 
cold.  The  ice  is  never  more  than  two  or  three  inches 
thick,  nor  the  snow  more  than  two  or  three  inches 
deep ;  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of  rain.  Sometimes 
in  the  winter  it  rains  five  or  six  days  in  succession. 

When  the  summer  was  over,  Jewitt  began  to  des- 
pair of  getting  away  from  the  Indians ;  for  no  vessels 
came  to  Nootka,  though  there  had  been  several  on 
the  coast.  After  Mr  Salter  and  his  people  were  kill- 
ed, the  other  masters  of  vessels  were  afraid  to  go 
there.  As  1  told  you  before,  Jewitt  had  given  a  letter 
to  a  Klaizzart  chief,  to  be  given  to  the  master  of  any 
vessel  he  might  see  ;  but  Jewitt  heard  nothing  of  it 
for  a  great  while. 


152 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


By  this  time  he  had  nearly  lost  all  hope.  On  the 
19th  of  July  he  was  at  work  with  Thompson,  making 
daggers  for  Maquina.  Suddenly  they  heard  three 
cannon,  and  the  Indians  hegan  to  call  *  weena,  weena, 
mamethlee,^  which  means,  in  their  language — stranger, 
— white  men.  Directly  some  of  the  Indians  came 
running  into  the  Iiouse,  to  tell  them  that  there  was  a 
ship  sailing  into  the  harbour.  They  were  rejoiced  at 
this,  but  were  afraid  to  show  their  joy.  If  they  had 
seemed  to  want  to  get  away,  the  Indians  might  have 
killed  them.  So  they  kept  on  working,  as  if  nothing 
was  the  matter. 

At  this  moment  Maquina  came  in,  r.nd  was  surprised 
to  see  Jewitt  and  Thompson  at  work.  He  asked  them 
if  they  did  not  know  that  a  ship  had  come.  Jewitt 
said  he  did  not  care  anything  about  it.  Maquina  was 
surprised,  and  desired  to  know  if  he  did  not  wish  to  go 
on  board.  He  said  no  ;  he  had  got  used  to  the  Noot- 
kas,  and  meant  to  stay  with  them  all  his  life.  Then 
Maquina  told  them  that  the  Indians  were  holding  a 
council  about  them,  and  they  might  go  and  hear  what 
they  said.  So  Maquina  went  to  the  council,  and  asked 
the  Indians  what  should  be  done  with  the  two  white 
men. 

Some  proposed  to  kill  Jewitt  and  Thompson,  and 
some  wanted  to  send  them  into  the  woods  till  the  ves- 
sel was  gone.  But  the  Chief  said  they  should  not 
be  killed  nor  hurt.  Some  of  the  Indians  then  pro- 
posed to  set  them  at  liberty,  and  send  them  on  board 
the  vessel.  But  Maquina  did  not  like  to  lose  hi« 
blacksmith,  and  he  would  not  consent  to  part  with 
them. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


ir>:l 


Maquina  had  a  great  mind  to  go  on  board  the  vessel 
liiinself.  But  all  the  Indians  were  against  his  doing 
so.  They  told  him  that  the  master  of  the  ship  would 
put  him  to  death,  or  at  any  rate  keep  him  a  prisoner, 
tor  having  killed  Mr  Salter  and  his  people.  Maquina 
said  he  was  not  afraid  to  go  on  board,  but  would  take 
Jewitt's  advice  about  it.  He  said  he  had  never  heard 
Jewitt  tell  a  lie ;  and  if  he  said  there  was  no  danger, 
lie  would  go  on  board :  if  he  said  there  was,  he  would 
not  go.  So  he  turned  round,  and  asked  Jewitt  if  the 
sailors  would  hurt  him  if  he  went  on  board. 

Jewitt  replied  that  the  Indians  did  not  know  any- 
thing about  white  people,  and  so  he  did  not  wonder 
at  their  advice.  But  if  they  knew  as  much  about 
them  as  he,  or  even  Maquina  himself  did,  they  would 
think  differently.  The  white  people  had  never  killed 
nor  hurt  any  person  who  had  not  injured  them ;  and  so 
if  he  wanted  to  go  on  board,  he  might  do  so  in  safety. 

Then  Maquina  said  that  if  Jewitt  would  write  a  let- 
ter to  the  master  of  the  vessel,  and  tell  him  that  Ma- 
quina was  a  good  man,  and  that  he  had  used  him  and 
Thompson  well,  he  would  go  on  board.  Jewitt  said 
if  Maquina  wanted  him  to  write  a  letter,  he  would  do 
it.  So  Maquina  told  him  to  write,  and  he  wrote  the 
letter,  but  not  such  a  one  as  the  Chief  meant.  It 
was  in  these  words  : 


*  To  Captain 


-,  of  the  Brig 


'  Nootka,  July  19,  1805. 

'  Sir — The  bearer  of  this  letter  is  the  Indian  king,  by 
the  name  of  Maquina.  He  was  the  instigator  of  the 
capture  of  the  ship  Boston,  of  Boston  in  North  Amer- 


A 


PFW 


154 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


ica,  John  Salter,  master,  and  of  the  murder  of  twenty- 
five  men  of  he^  crew ;  the  two  only  survivors  being 
now  on  shore.  Wherefore,  I  hope  you  will  confine 
him,  according  to  his  merits,  putting  in  your  dead 
lights,  and  keeping  so  good  a  watch  over  him  that  he 
cannot  escape  from  you.  By  so  doing,  we  shall  be 
able  to  obtain  our  release  in  a  few  hours. 

*  John  R.   Jewitt, 
'Armorer  of  the  Ship  Boston,  for  himself  and  John 
Thompson,  sail-maker  of  said  ship.' 

Maquina  asked  Jewitt  to  explain  the  letter  to  him. 
So  he  read  it  over,  taking  care  to  give  a  wrong  inter- 
pretation to  all.  The  Chief  looked  in  Jewitt's  face 
steadily,  and  ask^d  him  if  he  spoke  the  truth.  Jewitt 
pretended  that  he  did,  and  Maquina  at  last  believed 
liim.  So  the  Chief  concluded  to  go  on  board,  though 
the  women  cried,  and  the  men  sought  to  persuade  him 
not  to  go. 

As  soon  as  the  canoe  had  put  off,  Maquina  stopped 
it)  and  asked  Jewitt  if  he  did  not  want  to  ijo  with  him. 
He  was  afraid  to  say  yes ;  so  he  said  he  did  not  want 
to  leave  the  Nootkas,  or  to  go  on  board. 

Perhaps  my  little  readers  will  think  that  Jewitt 
did  wrong  to  practise  deception  in  this  and  some 
other  cases.  The  Bible  teaches  us  never  to  violate 
the  truth,  and  I  hope  the  example  of  our  adventurer 
will  not  lead  any  one  to  do  it.  We  must  consider 
that  Jewitt  was  in  slavery  among  savages,  and  he 
was  tempted  by  the  love  of  liberty  and  life  to  do  as 
he  did.  We  can  easily  excuse  his  conduct ;  but  we 
nmst  at  tlie  same  time  insist  upon  the  duty  of  always 
speakin    truth  rather  than  falsehood. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


155 


CHAPTER  XL. 


Maquina  goes  on  board  the  Shipj  and  is  put  in  Irons. — 
Thompson  and  Jewitt  are  released. — The  Articles  be- 
longing to  the  Boston  are  restored. — Maquina  is  set  free. 

As  soon  as  he  got  on  board  the  vessel,  Maquina 
gave  some  skins  and  Jewitt's  letter  to  the  captain. 
The  captain  took  him  iLto  the  cabin  and  gave  him 
some  bread  and  rum,  and  at  the  same  time  sent  for 
the  mate  and  six  men.  When  they  came,  the  captain 
told  Maquina  that  he  should  keep  him  on  board  till 
the  two  white  men  on  shore  were  set  at  liberty.  So 
he  put  Maquina  in  irons,  and  placed  a  guard  over 
him. 

The  Indians  in  Maquina's  canoe  now  went  back  to 
the  village  with  the  intelligence  of  what  had  happen- 
ed. The  inhabitants  were  thrown  into  the  greatest 
consternation.  Maquina's  wives  and  the  rest  of  the 
women  fell  upon  their  knees,  and  begged  Jewitt  not 
to  have  Maquina  killed.  He  told  them  that  Maquina 
was  in  no  danger.  Some  of  the  men  told  Jewitt  they 
would  kill  him ;  others  threatened  to  cut  him  into 
pieces  not  bigger  than  their  thumb-nails.  Jewitt 
calmly  replied,  that  the  master  of  the  vessel  had  con- 
fined Maquina  to  make  them  set  him  and  Thompson 
free.  '  If  you  desire  to  see  your  Chief  hanging  to 
that  mast,  and  the  sailors  shooting  at  him,  you  had 
better  kill  me,'  said  he.  But  the  Indians  said, '  No,  that 
would  not  do ; '  so  they  concluded  to  send  Thompson 
on  board.    Thompson  did  not  like  to  leave  Jewitt 


I  I 


w 


tf 


H 


n 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


ir)7 


among  the  Indians  ;  but  he  told  him  not  to  fear  any- 
thing  on  his  account,  as  he  had  no  doubt  all  would 
turn  out  well. 

When  Thompson  was  gone,  Jewitt  asked  the  In- 
dians what  they  intended  to  do  with  him.  They  said, 
he  must  send  to  the  captain  to  let  Maquina  come 
ashore  in  a  boat,  and  he,  Jewitt,  must  be  ready  to  jump 
in,  as  soon  as  the  boat  touched  the  beach.  To  thiH 
Jewitt  replied  that,  the  master  knew  that  they  had 
killed  Mr  Salter  and  his  crew,  and  would  not  trust 
any  of  his  men  within  their  reach.  But  if  they  wouhl 
take  him  near  the  ship  in  a  canoe,  the  boat  should 
come  to  it,  and  Maquina  should  get  into  the  canoe, 
and  he  into  the  boat,  at  the  same  time.  To  this  they 
agreed. 

Accordingly  they  put  him  into  the  canoe  with  three 
strong  Indians,  and  he  sat  facing  them.  He  deter- 
mined to  get  on  board  tlie  vessel  before  Maquina  was 
released,  if  he  could.  By  this  means,  he  hoped  to 
get  back  some  of  the  things  they  had  taken  from  the 
Boston.  When  they  got  near  enough  to  the  vessel 
to  speak  to  those  on  board,  the  Indians  stopped  pad- 
dling. Jewitt  pulled  out  his  pistols,  and  threatened 
to  shoot  them,  if  they  did  not  go  on. 

This  frightened  them,  and  they  paddled  alongside  the 
vessel,  and  Jewitt  got  on  board.  He  found  the  vessel  to 
be  the  brig  Lydia,  of  Boston,  and  the  Captain's  name 
was  Samuel  Hill.  He  was  glad  to  see  Jewitt,  and  said 
he  had  got  his  letter  from  the  Klaizzart  chief.  Th(^ 
Indian  had  come  to  the  vessel  in  his  canoe  to  deliver 
it.    When  he  had  read  it,  he  sailed  directly  to  Nootka, 

14 


158 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


to  set  him  free.    Jewitt  thanked  him  heartily,  and 
indeed  he  had  good  reason  to  thank  him. 

When  Jewitt  came  alongside  the  Lydia,  he  was 
painted  red  and  black,  from  head  to  foot,  and  had  a 
bear-skin  wrapped  round  him.  He  had  not  been  al- 
lowed to  cut  his  hair,  and  a  branch  of  spruce  was 
stuck  in  it.  So  he  looked  like  an  Indian  or  a  crazy 
man.  Captain  Hill  said  he  had  never  seen  a  man 
look  so  wild  and  savage  in  his  life. 

Jewitt  went  with  the  captain  into  the  cabin,  and 
there  he  found  Maquina  in  irons,  with  a  guard  over 
him.  The  Chief  was  very  sad ;  but  he  seemed  pleased 
to  see  Jewitt.  Jewitt  shook  hands  with  him,  and 
asked  the  captain  to  take  off  the  irons,  saying  he 
would  not  be  in  the  least  troublesome.  The  captain 
consented,  and  Jewitt  took  the  irons  off. 

It  gave  him  pleasure  to  take  the  irons  off,  for  Ma- 
quina had  oflen  saved  his  life.  Jewitt  had  only  con- 
trived to  get  him  confined,  in  order  to  obtain  his  own 
liberty.  Maquina  smiled,  and  seemed  very  much 
pleased.  Jewitt  now  told  Captain  Hill  how  the  Bos- 
ton had  been  taken  by  the  Indians,  and  how  the  crew 
had  been  killed.  It  was  known  in  Boston  that  the 
Indians  had  destroyed  the  ship.  The  owners  also  had 
been  informed  that  two  of  the  men  were  in  captivity 
among  the  Indians,  and  had  offered  a  reward  to 
whoever  should  set  them  free. 

Afler  hearing  Jewitt's  story,  Captain  Hill  was  ver}^ 
angry  with  Maquina,  and  said  he  ought  to  be  put  to 
death.  But  Jewitt  persuaded  him  not  to  do  so.  Cap- 
tain Hill,  however,  determined  to  keep  him  till  all  the 
things  which  had  been  taken  from  the  Boston,  yet 
among  the  Indians,  should  be  restored. 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


159 


id 


While  they  were  talking  together,  Maquina  showed 
great  anxiety,  for  he  understood  what  they  were  say- 
ing. Jewitt  at  length  told  him  that  he  must  return 
all  the  property  he  had  taken  from  the  Boston.  To 
this  Maquina  consented,  and  he  was  indeed  glad  to 
obtain  his  release  on  these  conditions. 

As  it  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  Jewitt  told 
Maquina  he  must  stay  on  board  all  night,  and  in  the 
morning  he  should  be  set  ashore,  as  soon  as  the  things 
were  delivered.  So  Jewitt  went  on  deck,  and  told 
the  Indians  who  came  with  him  what  was  agreed 
upon.    They  said  it  was  very  well,  and  went  away. 

All  night  Maquina  would  not  let  Jewitt  sleep.  He 
kept  putting  him  in  mind  how  the  Indians  had  often 
sought  to  kill  him,  and  how  he  had  saved  his  life. 
He  urged  upon  Jewitt  that  he  was  under  obligation  to 
do  tha  same  by  him. 

At  day-break  the  Indians  set  about  bringing  the 
cannon,  the  anchors,  and  all  that  was  left  of  the  Bos- 
ton's cargo,  to  the  vessel.  In  ihe  course  of  a  few 
hours  they  had  brought  everything  on  board,  together 
with  the  articles  belonging  to  Jewitt  and  Thompson. 

Then  they  set  Maquina  at  liberty.  He  gave  Cap- 
tain Hill  sixty  otter  skins,  for  having  spared  his 
life.  He  also  gave  him  his  otter  skin  cloak ;  and  the 
captain  gave  him  a  great  coat  and  hat,  in  return.  He 
also  told  hmi  that  he  should  return  in  November,  and 
would  buy  all  the  skins  he  might  have  to  spare. 

At  parting,  Maquina  shook  Jewitt  with  both  hands, 
and  bade  him  farewell  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  Then 
he  stepped  into  his  canoe,  and  the  Indians  paddled  him 
ashore. 


KK) 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS 


Jewitt  also  was  much  affected  ;  for  although  he  was 
thankful  for  his  deliverance,  yet  he  had  lived  long 
with  Maquina,  and  received  many  acts  of  kindness 
from  him. 


CHAPTER  XLL 

The.  Vessel  sails y  and  they  traffic  with  various  Tribes  oj  In 
diuns. — They  go  to  the  Columbia  River ,  and  find  Capt. 
Lcicis^s  Letter. — Return  to  JVootka. — Meeting  with  Ma- 
quina. — Farewell. — The  Brig  goes  to  China ^  and  Jcio- 
itt  arrives  at  Boston. — He  writes  his  Book,  and  settles 
in  Berlin,  Connecticut. — His  Death. 

The  vessel's  sails  were  hoisted,  and  they  steered  their 
course  to  the  North.  They  stopped  at  several  places, 
to  trade  with  the  Indians.  They  saw  one  tribe  named 
the  Wooden  Lips.  These  people  had  a  great  many 
furs  to  sell :  the  wonj^n  did  all  the  bargaining,  and 
managed  the  canoes. 

Four  months  after  they  left  Nootka,  Captain  Hill 
went  to  the  mouth  of  Columbia  River,  to  get  spars 
and  masts ;  for  the  vessel  had  been  damaged  by  a  gale 
of  wind.  They  sailed  a  little  way  up  the  river,  and 
the  Indians  told  them  that  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark 
had  gone  away  only  a  fortnight  before.  They  show- 
ed the  m6dals,  and  a  letter  that  the  Captains  had  given 
them,  and  which  I  have  mentioned  before. 

After  getting  what  they  wanted,  they  returned  to 
Nootka,  where  they  arrived  in  November.  The  tribe 
was  not  there  ;  but  the  ship  fired  a  cannon,  and  a  canoe 


WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


IGl 


}8 


soon  landed  at  the  village,  with  Maquina  in  it.  The 
Indians  put  him  on  shore,  and  then  paddled  off  to  the 
brig.  They  asked  if  Jewitt  was  on  board,  and  said 
that  if  he  was,  Maquina  had  some  skins  to  sell  him. 
They  asked  him  to  go  on  shore  and  see  Maquina. 

He  said  he  would  do  so,  if  they  would  stay  on  board 
in  the  mean  while  :  to  this  they  agreed.  Mr  Hill  and 
Thompson  did  not  like  to  have  him  go,  but  he  said  he 
was  not  afraid,  while  the  Indians  stayed  on  board. 
The  master  took  them  into  the  cabin,  and  gave  them 
bread  and  molasses  to  eat ;  and  Jewitt  went  ashore, 
and  met  Maquina. 

The  Chief  was  very  glad  to  see  him ;  but  when 
Jewitt  told  him  that  the  Indians  were  to  stay  on  board 
till  he  got  back,  he  said  he  would  not  have  hurt  him  if 
he  had  come  without  any  such  precaution.  Then  he 
put  his  chest  of  skins  into  the  boat,  and  Jewitt  went 
with  Maquina  to  the  brig.  The  captain  received  him 
well,  and  bought  his  furs  of  him.  He  went  away 
much  pleased ;  but  first  asked  Jewitt  when  he  would 
come  again. 

He  said  that  his  son  loved  Jewitt,  and  wished  very 
much  to  come  and  see  him ;  he  also  said  he  would 
save  all  his  furs  till  he  came  again.  Then  he  went 
away,  and  Jewitt  never  saw  him  more. 

After  this,  the  vessel  sailed  to  China,  and  Jewitt 
found  a  man  at  Canton  whom  he  had  known  in  En- 
gland. This  man  gave  him  a  suit  of  clothes  and  some 
money.  Then  they  sailed  to  Boston.  In  the  post- 
office  Jewitt  found  a  letter  from  his  m.other ;  she 
had  received  a  letter  that  he  wrote  at  Canton,  and 
was  very  hupj^y  to  hear  that  he  was  alive  and  well. 


102 


TALES  OF  TRAVELS. 


The  people  in  Boston  treated  Jewitt  kindly,  and  he 
wrote  a  very  entertaining  book,  giving  an  account  oi 
'  is  adventures. 

After  tliis,  he  settled  in  the  town  of  Berlin,  in  Con- 
necticut, where  he  pursued  for  several  years  the  trade 
of  a  blacksmith.  He  was  a  very  honest,  pious  man, 
and  obtained  the  good  will  and  good  opinion  of  all 
who  knew  him.    He  died  about  ten  years  ago. 


